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i^®^«^€©«3see^5ses©s*s 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 




I^H, |iifVMX/v(/i/T.' 



THE GREAT 

CO-PARTNERSHIP 

AND OTHER PAPERS. 



BY OBE^D., 

. I' 

iS Tn G O KT ID IE X> I T I O KT . 



" lie sKi-e you're rir/M, then go aheafV—TTou. David Crocket. 
When sure yov're wrong, then change your course. 



CLEVELAND: 

Ingham, Clarke & Co. 

1879. 



T^ Uv 



,C' 



COPYRIGHT : 

IT. U. JOHNSON, 

1879. 



liUKFAlX), N. Y: 
A. C. VANDrZKK, EXCiUyWER. 



KRIE, PA.: 

JXO. M. C,LA7AFAl, Printer. 
1879. 




'OU. 



PKEP^ACE. 

Surrounded by his three friends, Job sat in the 
ashes and exclaimed, " My desire is, that my ad- 
versary had written a book." Just what prompted 
tlic good man of Uz to advance such an idea, may, 
after the lapse of so, many ages, be a question more 
easily asked than answered. Perhaps he felt con- 
fident that nothing evil could be said of him, for he 
proposed to bear the volume upon his shoulders; 
or, perhaps lie wished to subject his adversary to 
tlie ordeal of a critic's review, as the most excrucia- 
ting torture to which he could be subjected. 

If the former was the cause, he would not have 
expressed the wish had he lived in this day of re- 
turning boards, cipher dispatches, and congres- 
sional investigations, for before proceeding with his 
task that enemy would have had a committee ap- 
pointed with power to summon witnesses, and Job 
would have been implicated in inciting the Sabeans 
to the destruction of his property, and in raising the 
wind that demolished the building in which his 
sons and daughters were having their gay frolic, 
that the courts might not be troubled with any con- 
tested will cases, wTiile Satan would have " walked 
to and fro in the earth," without suspicion. If the 
latter. Job was a heartless man, which the record 
will not for a moment justify us in believing. 



C)becl is of the opinion that just at this juncture 
his liunior got the hctter of his pain and the arj^u- 
mcnls of his frieiuls, and that he was imagining 
how one of Mrs. Job's curtain lectures would look 
on jiarchnient, for from all (hat we can learn of 
that estimable lady she was an a-la-Caudk', and 
probably the proverbial patience of Job was largely 
owing to the self restraint he had learned to prac- 
tice through a long series of domestic unpleasant- 
nesses, in many of which he no doubt acknowledged 
himself, as every considerate man does, lai'gely to 
blame. 

Be these opinions right or wrong, Obed has not 
written a book because he is an adversary of any- 
one, and as to the critics, whj', every man should 
thrive by bis profession. Thp private, as well as 
the more public, lectures of Mrs. Obed, have been 
very salutary to him ; and in very gladness he 
has learned to love the comicalities, as well as the 
stern duties of life. Some of these he has en- 
deavored to poi'tray in these papers, hoping thereby 
to waken pleasant memories in the hearts of the 
old ; to incite the young to a study of usages fast 
passing away, and to give them a faint conception 
of what awaits them in the pathway of life. Such 
is the desire of Obkd. 



''KNOW ALL MEN," 

Tliat to Mrs. Obed, lier Friend, and all others who 
have, or who have not, entered into the labyrinths 
of the Great Co-partnership, or who endured the 
dust, the fatigues, the crowds and the sweats, inci- 
dent to a 

CENTENNIAL EXCURSION, 
or who appreciate the foibles and fun, as well as 
the more sensible realities of life, Obed, with a deep 
fellow feeling, dedicates these papers. Thus Obed 
dedicates them. 



N. B. 

They that soiv in tears shall reap in joy. — Ps. 120 : 5. 
Few of these enjoy the seed-time, whilst most are dissatisfied 
with the harvest yield. 

A soft ansirer turneth atvay m-ath ; but grievous tcords stir up anger. — 
Piov. 15: 1. 

Solomon does not raeau seutimeutally soft. Wheu Mrs. Solo- 
mon said to him, " My deah, g,et up and build the fiah," the 
words were grievous. 

Better is a dinner of herbs cohere love is, than a stalled ox and hatred 
tficreunth. — Pro. lo: 17. 

Most people prefer their herbs sea.soued with .some of the 
ox, though they do have to mingle a little of the lastuamed in- 
credieut. 



^HV.A>- ^^-^^i<TNjct,^ 




" Do you believe that matches are made in 
heaven ?" said Mrs. Obed blandly to her husband 
as she came in from the Woman's Monthly Mission- 
ary meeting. 

"Do I believe what?" asked Obed, looking 
up from some experiments with which he was 
busily engaged. 

" That matches are made in heaven ?" 

" Well, the only match I have any personal 
recollection of was made in front of an old-fash- 



— 10— 

ioiied fire-i)ltice whilst the head of the rainily inul liis 
better-half were lustily snoring behind the curtains 
in the opposite end of the room, and the younger 
members, save one, were fast asleep in the loft," re- 
plied Obed. " But now that you speak of it, I look 
back through a long succession of hrcczea and do re- 
member it as a heavenly sort of place." 




" Pshaw! if you go to talking in that kind of 
style you'll look at it — " 

" Through a regular thunder storm. Well, let 
it come ; I've somewhere read, ' There is no flood in 
woman's passion but hath an ebb.' " 

" Now, Obed, I'd like to know what satisfaction 
there is in that quotation ?" 



—11— 

" 0! none to you, I presume. But tell me what 
match-making has to do with foreign missions? 
That's what I'd like to know." 

" Well, a good deal. Mrs. H brought in an 

Indiana paper this afternoon and read an account 
of a single court in that State granting twenty-four 
divorces in one day." 

" Were they granted to men or women ?" 

" To men, every one of them." 

" And so your society is going to take an ap- 
peal ?" 

"Take a what?" 

" Why, carry the matter up to the court where 
you think those matches were made." 

" No sir, wo shall do no such thing, but we 



shall " 

" Divert your funds from Hindoostan, and ap- 
ply them to the con,version of those Hoosier courts." 

There was a sudden closing of his office door, 
and Obed was once more alone. The chemical 
combinations he was investigating were all gone up 
in gas, and an entirely new train of thought had 
taken possession of his mind. He remembered that 
Adam began business alone. This, as is gathered 
from the narrative, soon 'becoming irksome to him 
he took in a partner who came highly recommended 



—12— 

Tliis junior member of tlie firm seems to have 
been of a very communicative as well as venture- 
some turn of mind, and before the senior had time 
to give her full instructions, was readily induced 
by the first dnuiimer of whom we have any account, to 
divulge the full extent of the business, and add to 
. the stock an interdicted article. The result was a 
sudden reduction to bankruptc}^, and the issuing by 
the Supreme Court of the Universe of a peremptory 
writ of ejectment from the premises heretofore oc- 
cupied. 

These were facts that Obed liad early learned 
without being able fully to comprehend their im- 
port ; but he understands them now, for he no 
longer thinks as a child. Many a time, in his im- 
agination, has lie looked in on that stranded firm 
in their new abode, that first night when brambles 
and briers began to grow up about them, and list- 
ened to the dulcet tones of Mrs. Adam as she gave 
vent to the first curtain lecture of earth. Stricken 
as he was at the dire calamity which had befallen 
him and his, how it must have grated upon the ear 
of Adam to hear himsalf called a " pimj)," " a cow- 
ard," and ''an ungrateful wretch," by tlie very 
being whom he had so recently considered his chief 
joy. 15ut then the "old Ad;im" was tliere, and in 



-13- 

her brief Ccatchings for breatl), there fell upon the 
delicate ear of the first woman those ungallaiit ex- 
pressions, "a tongue hung in the middle," "if it 
had'nt been for you," "you did it." T'was only the 
beginning of a literature which has defied all 
etymological changes coming down to us in its 
original spirit, through all the mutations of lan- 
guage. 

" But then," said Obed, half apologetically, 
" that primitive couple had no time to study each 
other through a pleasing courtship, and no wonder 
they started off a little wrong. Get the devil out of 
the way, and give a little time for studying charac- 
ter, then we shall find how smoothly things will 
work." 

Thus saying, his imagination floated down the 
stream of time an^l he beheld a hale old couple who 
had been com[)anions for a hundred years, first as 
brother and sister, but mostly as husl>and and wife. 
In the joy and childdike gladness of their hearts, 
they were indulging in a great feast in honor of 
" A CJay Young 'framj) " who had come unex- 
pectedly into their nomadic home; l)ut because 
the good old lady saw Ishmacl cutting some antics 
behind a lent pole, whilst jrobably wishing himself 
the son of his aunt, that he, too, might have a birth- 



—14— 

(lay party, she made things terribly blue ; and the 
old patriarch, who had stood "unawed before 
Kings," was glad to purchase becoming quiet by 
sending Hagar away with a loaf of bread, a bottle 
of water, the patriarchal blessing, and, perhaps, a 
kiss of remembrance, if he only got a chance to ad- 
minister it. 

There was a woman in the upsetting of Abra- 
ham's domestic happiness, and, considering the 
events of the day, it was with ill grace that he 
could say to the young wives about him, 

" Let not your angry passions rise." 

In the experience of Solomon, Obed found lit- 
tle to brighten the picture. With three hundred 
wives to comb his head, the great King found mar- 
ried life very unsatisfactory, and in his vexation of 
spirit, he WTote many proverbs not at all flattering 
to the gentler sex. It was fashion, lust, and ex- 
travagance, not wisdom, that took all the bliss out 
of the wise man's domestic civch. 

'■ But what is the use of going so far back," 
reasoned Obed. " The world but little cares about the 
happiness or misery of departed prophet, priest or 
patriarch. "They twain shall be one flesh," is still 
the doctrine, except, perhaps, among Frcdorcrs, and 
still the matrimonial skies are clouded. The devil, 



—15— 

alcohol, a man or a, woman, pride, vanity, petu- 
lance or some other distracting factor, is continually 
worjning itself into the earthly j:»aradisc,(?) bring- 
ing in its train, if not the evils of the first fall, a 
multitude of others, well calculated to destroy 
domestic hajipiness. 

The springs of wooing gush, and murmur, and 
boil in youthful sunlight, throwing their spray 
bright as ever, and gallant 3'ouths and blushing 
maidens come and sip, thinking they are i)artaking 
of Ihe "Elixir of Life;" but 

" Their shallow draughts iatoxicate llie brain," 

and they plunge into the connubial waters without 
any calculation as to their depth, or even having 
first ascertained that they are brackish and bitter, 
infortnation which any maiden aunt would have 
im])arted to them gratuitously. Then, after a very 
brief honeymoon, when tribulations arise, they be- 
gin 

" To fret, and worry, and torment each other " 

in processes only to cease when the grim gentleman 
who rides the pale horse enters with a subpoena for 
one of them, unless, perchance, he has been antici- 
pated by an ap})eal to an Indianaor Chicago Judge." 
Thus generalizing, Obed turned to a memoran- 
dum in which for thirty years he has kept a care- 



— 16— 

fill record of iiiaiiy of the cases of domeslic iiii- 
})licily wbicb, both at home and abroad, have come 
under bis personal observation, and read : 

" Boarding at Williams' this week. Loose 
board partition l)et\vcen 'family' and 'spare bed.' 
Last niaht beard a t>rutf voice sav, 'take vour cold 
bucks away from my legs.' 

A gentle voice replied, 'you did'nt use to call 
them so.' 

'Well, now, whine, wont you ? Did you sup- 
pose I was always going to be a fool and say 'foot- 
sies-tootsies T ^ 

'Hush, hush,' said the same gentle voice, 'the 
master will hear you.' 

'What do you sup])Ose I care for tlie master ; I 
want to sleep, so keep your feet away.' 

Long after Williams was snoring, subdued 
sighs told of a mental agony in the breast of the 
wife, struggling to control itself. 

" Last week," said Obed to himself, " I called 
upon that couple. 

"Out of tlie old home, they've moved up into 
the new," but are prematurel}' old, wrinkled, and 
gray. The hard lines upon ^Villiams' face speak as 
plainly as ever, "What do you suppose I care?" 



• —17— 

whilst the saddened brow and wan cheeks of his 
companion prochiim thirty years of domestic sub- 
jugation and servitude. 

The little ones whom I taught in the district 
school are grown and gone, having no pleasant 
memories of home except' those that cluster around 
a tender mother's care." 

A few pages farther on Obed read, " I met my 
old chum John this morning. The poor fellow is 
in hot water. He's been married five weeks. Three 
days ago his wife said to him, 'My dear, will you 
take me home to-day ?' John replied that his em- 
ployer's arrangements made it impossible for him 
to leave. 

'John, you must take me,' was the rejoinder. 

'But I tell you Mr. B. cannot possibly spare me 
to day,' persisted John. 

'Well, sir, Mr. B., or no Mr. B., I shall go 
home.' 

'Well, then, go ; but you'll go on foot and alone. 
I shall attend to business.' 

This was the first pass. In five minutes the 
young wife was in spasms, whilst John, stood over 
her shocked at what had happened, and the, to him? 
inexplicable results. Three days of hysterics and 



-18- 

foriy-eiglit hours of inotlier-iu-lavv, liavc cut more 
wisdom teeth for him than he supposed he had. 
Alas, poor John !" 

A subsequent note showed that after fifteen 
years of very spasmodic life, there came a decree of 
divorce which left but a single chance for second 
marriage, and John declared that he would never 
avail himself of that, but he broke his vow inside 
of twelve months. As he read, Obed exclaimed, 
" Such is life." 

Again, " The price of farm products has fallen 
off one-third whilst the advancing age and devel- 
opment of Mr. K.'s daughters have advanced their 
wants fully fifty per cent., two facts not at all in 
unison with his financial tastes. 

Yesterday, as he was about starting for town, 
Mrs. K. said, 'Father the girls need some things: 
Mary wants a pair of kid shoes; Susie must have 
cloth gaiters and a pair of rubbers ; Lucy requires 
some slippers and a poplin dress; Louise, some hand- 
kerchiefs and a pair of gloves ; Nettie, a parasol and 
Kit, some yarn for tidies ; then they will all have to 
have some underclothing, summer hats, and " 

'What in thunder won't they have to have?' 

'Mr. K.,' said the wife in a very decided voice. 



-19- 

'Well, madam, what is it?' 

'I have told you these things are needed ' 

'Yes, I never go to town lately, but the girls 
need half a dry goods store, and a small millinery 
shop.' 

'Well, sir, if you didn't expect to get things for 
your girls, you shouldn't have had so many, that's 
all I've got to say.' 

'Well, if it is, I'm glad, for you never know 
when to stop.' 

'You old fool, you're too mean to be the hus- 
band of a decent woman, and too stingy to .' 

Now Mr. and Mrs. K. are really good people 
to everybody outside of themselves, but full of 
tinder. When everything is balmy, they can say 
'Father,' 'Mother,' on 'low do' so sweetly; but let the 
least thing go awry and they will run through the 
domestic gamut to 'You old fool,' in the eighth 
octave, with surprising rapidity. Thus it always 
has been with them ; thus it always will be, for 
neither will learn the maxim, 'Know thyself.' 

" Mrs. Tate is a very pious woman and a good 
singer, excellencies which do not always go together. 
Her husband is a very honest, good sort of a fellow. 



— 20- 

seldom saying anything cither at home or ahroad. 
Thougli not religiously inclined, he always accom- 
panies her to church, where she never forgets to 
make mention of him in her devotions. 

In the prayer meeting last night, tlic unction 
of the spirit rested upon her with peculiar power. 
She was unusually gifted in prayer, and sang 

" Shall we know each other there ?" 

as we had never known her to sing it before ; many 
-were melted to tears. 

On the way home, being a short distance ahead 
of me, with a quisical tremor in his voice, Tate 
asked, 'Wouldn't it be nice, Mary, if there were a 
hymn 

" Shall we know each other here. ?" 

'It might suit you, sir.' 

'Yes, 'I think I should often enjoy it far more 
than the song8 I am daily called upon to hear, and 
particularly the one of this morning.' 

'Well, sir, I shall sing you a sliarper song than 
that before you are much older, if you do not at- 
tend to your own business and mind what I say.' 

'No doubt of that, m.ij dear; but tlicn wouldn't 
it be better if you would learn to spread your 
religion out evenly, rather than keep it bottled for 
public display ?' 



—21— 

'My religion is my own.' 

'Yes, so I've thought for a long time.' 

'Now, sir, its time for yoii to ' 

. I had reached my gate. The tribulations of 
poor Tate under a species of petty aggravations at 
home, cloaked under a great show of religious zeal 
abroad, have long been known to me. He bears up 
under it manfully, but if ever a change of heart 
comes to him, it will be when Mrs. T. has experi- 
enced a new birth." 



'I'd like to know what you're going to do with 
that horse, Mr. Hayes,' said his wife this morning, 
as he came leading a fine five-year old toward the 
street. 

'I'm going to get him shod,' replied Hayes. 

'We'll see about that.' 

'I've seen about it already ; I guess I'm com- 
petent to see to the horse shoeing. You'd better go 
into the house and 'tend to your own aff'airs.' 

'I think I'll 'tend to them right here. That 
horse is not going to be shod. You needn't think 
you'll slip him over to Jones', as you promised yes- 
terday.' 



—22— 

'As I promised yesterday V 

'Yes, sir, as you promised yesterday. You 
can't lie to me. Ben told me all about it.' 

Til thrash Ben.' 

'You'd better try it, and I'll smash your head. 
I'll let you know who owns this property, and who'll 
thi^ash the children !' 

'You've let me know a good many times 
already. I wish I had never seen you nor the 
property either.' 

'So do I. And now, sir, do you put that horse 
in the pasture where you found him.' 

There was no alternative, and he obeyed. 

Three years ago an unsophisticated bachelor, 
Hayes married Mrs. Snodgrass, and with the widow, 
took as encumbrances four children and a well 
stocked farm. The widow alone would have been 
a match for him ; with the encumbrances she is far 
more. Almost every day he is reminded that her 
money bought such and such property, and he is 
not slow to let her know that it also bought him. 
Alas, they are both badly sold." 

A letter carefully pinned to one of the leaves 
and furnishing its own comment, read as follows : 



-23— 

, May lOih, 1877. 



'My Dear Friend : 

'Again I appeal to you for advice ; matters are 
not improving with us. Henry is becoming more 
and more abandoned and dissolute. Last evening, 
for the first time, he subjected me to personal vio- 
lence. 'Tis the old story. He has used up his 
means, and squandered his wages, until privation 
and hunger are the |jortion of myself and the 
children. 

'Last night when he came home the children 
were crying for supper, whilst I had nothing to give 
them. He had been drinking, and was unusually 
cross. He began to upbraid me because the chil- 
dren were not quiet and in bed. I may have done 
wrong, God forgive me if I did, but I told him it 
was for bread they were crying, and had he but 
acted a father's part he would not be thus annoyed. 
I will not recount the words that followed. Suffice 
it to say he dealt me a severe blow across the face, 
which felled me to the floor. When I had recov- 
ered myself he was gone. Fearing further violence, 
I sought shelter for myself and children with a 
neighbor. 

'As I write under another's roof, 1 think of the 
many happy girlhood days I spent beneath yours, 



—24— 

and recall the ever kind advice and counsel of your 
wife and ^^ourself. Then little did I think it would 
ever come to this ; and yet I know my cu}) is not 
full. When you told me of Henry's proclivities I 
could not believe it, but I may not shrink from the 
terrible realization of it now. 

'Tell me, dear friend, shall I still cling to the 
man of my choice — the man against whom friends 
and parents protested, or shall I be justifiable in 
fleeing from certain destitution and perhaps from 
still fiercer outburst, of passion and violence ? 
Yours, in affliction, 

Nell.' " 

Thus page after page, covered with bickerings, 
heart-burnings, angry altercations, and cruel 
blows was turned, until, heart-sick, Obed closed the 
book. As he did so the words of the good parson 
who metamorphosed him from the 07ie of hvo to the 
half of one came across his mind. He was a bland 
old gentleman, then living with his fifth wife. 
Taking his young friend one side when the cere- 
mony was over, says he, " Obed, my boy, you've a 
great deal to learn about this matter of married 
life, and the principal thing is this, — 'Learn to keep 
your teeth tight shut when there are indications of 



—25— 

a breeze,' for such occasions will come." Observa- 
tion had already given Obed au inkling of this 
matter, and experience has convinced him that 
Socrates, under the severest goadings of Xantippe, 
never uttered a truth, if followed, more condusive 
to human happiness than that of his reverend 
friend. 

Then said Obed to himself, "This matter of 
matrimony is indeed a great Co-partnership, con- 
ceived in the councils of heaven and instituted on 
earth in the very morning of the race, and multi- 
plied until the copies have become innumerable. 
The oldest institution of earth, it is practically the 
least understood. Designed and calculated to serve 
the purest purposes of life, and to secure the 
greatest possible amount of happiness, it is prosti- 
tuted to the basest purposes, and in numberless 
instances becomes a pandemonium to those who 
enter its sacred pale. 

In entering upon other partnerships, which, at 
most, are expected to continue but a few years, fre- 
quently but as many months, and involving little 
that cannot be solved by mathematical calcula- 
tions, men hedge themselves about with strongly 
written contracts in which are specified the 
minutest particulars to be fulfilled, and these papers 



duly witnessed, are frequently referred to, in order 
that no misunderstanding may arise ; but into tlie 
great co-partnership of marriage wiiicli it is lio[)ed 
will continue for at least fifty years and then lap 
over onto tlie 'evergreen shore ;' a eo-i)artnership 
which is to give birth and training to rosy cheeked 
candidates for future firms ; to In'ing its members 
daily and hourly into the closest possible intimacy 
where the veriest weaknesses will be revealed.; to 
foster and develop those truths and principles 
which are the foundation stones of social and civil 
institutions; co-partnerships in which better than 
an3'-where else the essential doctrines of moral and 
religious truth can be developed and strengthened ; 
in which the parties contracting should remember 
they will grow old, wrinkled, decrepit and person- 
ally less attractive, and which should be broken up 
only by the hand of death — into such a co-partner- 
ship as this myriads of men and women are con- 
stantly entering, seemingly without any thought as 
to what the responsibilities and self-denials of the 
future are to be. 

Most marriage contracts if, exhibited to the eye, 
would present a strange medley of sheei)S-eyes, 
'My dears,' 'I'll tell mas,' and cool, mossy seats, 
withered flowers, swinging gales, midnight views 



—27— 

of the moon, peanut shucks, candy mottoes, care- 
fully kept l)illct (loux, small talks about the last 
concert, the masquerade, and the new novel, gifts 
of woolen scarfs and plated rings, the merest 
sprinkling of real business, fantastically ari'anged 
about 




"• ^Id. 37-0-0. e-v-er ?■ "V7"ell, ii.a.xa.137- e^rer." 

an 'Exquisite Alexander Adolph us' and his 
'adorable Maria Louise Deborah Ann,' engaged 
in a tete-a-tete as central figures. 



-28- 




Crola-aa. I'ei-iipletoa:!. Tma-s a, m.a.rL cf irrii/ht ai.-r^5. 3.±sT^i.^z 



— 29— 

An inspection of the co-partners would never 
lead to the conclusion that the apostolic doctrine, 
'Be ye not unecjually yoked together,' had ever 
been promulgated. Here is a gay rollicking hus- 
l>and, with a wife sedate and circumspect ; there one 
with stern business airs and economical ideas, with 
a helpmate of butterfly proclivities, who has never 
^''et learned the number of cents it takes to make a 
dollar. Husbands rough, uncouth, and profane, 
with wives cultivated, refined, and zealous in all 
malters of religion, growing up into 'Mothers 
in Israel ;' husbands who are pillars in the church, 
having wives who are very termigants; husbands 
by the score, built for nothing else than to hold down 
1)0X('S and benches about places of public resort, 
with wives at liomo taking in washing and sewing 
to sujiport their families; husbands of taste and 
high aspirations, with wives slatternly and unambi- 
tious; husbands brutish and sensual, with wives 
who vainly long for a higher existence, into whose 
hearts often come those saddest of all sad words, 

'It might have been ;' 

husbands of three score years, with wives of 'sweet 
sixteen ;' men not old enough to go on the bachelor 
list who have broken into the homes of widows of 



-30- 




T / , / I 






forty; men of weiglit and dignity with wives light 
and trifling. 



—31— 

But all pairs aro not tliiis incongruously mated. 
As there is more of sunshine than shadow in the 
natural world, so there are more bright ha})j)y 




T-wreaa-ty laiaae aiiLd. fortjr after tlie Honesr ^^ooam.. 

homes than the contrary. God has not forsaken 
his original design, and though marriage is treated 
too much as a great lottery, the prizes drawn are far 
more numerous than the blanks, and although 
there is so much of uncongeniality, there is far more 



-32— 

of titness, and with the culture and gro\vin<5 
amenities of modern civilization, domestic hapj)iness 
is greatly on the increase, and partnershi})S that 
began in weakness are being built U}) in the strength 
of growing conjugal affection. 

Looking back on the old homestead when all 
were there, 

'Father, mother, 

Brother, sister. 

All who hold each other dear,' 

mail}' a young father and mother remember that 
clouds did sometimes come over that old-time sky, 
and sharp words pass between the now 'departed,' 
yet there was so much of home born, heart-felt joy, 
that they learned to sing, 

'Home, sweet home. 

There is no place like home,' 

and the lessons of 'bear and forbear' come vividly 
back through the vista of years to guide them as 

voyagers over an old sea old, yet ever new 

and untried. 

Little by little the world is gathering up, and, 
let croakers say what they will, home shall yet 
fill the original design, becoming the fittest earthly 
type of heaven, where the graces and endearments 
of life are assiduously studied. 



—33— 

Of all that lias ever been said or written on the 
vexed question of matrimonial relations, nothing 
is better than the advice of a shrewd old bachelor 
whc»,. after abundant opportunity for observing 
among his own j)eople and particularly in foreign 
lands, wrote to some friends of his who appear to 
have been peculiarly mixed up on the subject, 
'Husbands, love your wives; wives, reverence your 
husbands.' There's the key note of happiness to 
both parties, for if there is anything in the world, 
after a new hat with a five dollar feather, a nice 
dress in the latest style, and an undisturbed oppor- 
tunity to lead the conversation, that will please a 
woman more than another, it is the assiduous 
attention of her husband, saying to all observers 
that in his estimation at least, she is a 'Pearl among 
rubies ;' and as for the other side of the house, pro- 
visions made for his cigars, a good dinner, and an 
undisputed right to stay out at night as late as he 
chooses, there is nothing so gratifying to his manly 
pride as to know that his wife regards him as a 
kind of demi-god, and that the proudest term in 
her vocabulary is ^My husband! There is no self- 
ishness in him in this matter. No, no. It is purely 
the working of the apostolic sentiment in his manly 
nature ; that is all. 



—34— 

Yet when all this love and reverence are brought 
into practice, human nature will sometimes out, and 
we must remember 

'Each other's ills to bear. ' 

As 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,' so self- 
denial and forbearance are the cost of 'wedded love,' 
and he who expects a smooth domestic sea must be 
sure there is no vestige of a beam of strife in his 
own eye, for if there is, he will find any amount of 
sand in the orb of his companion." 

Thus musing Obed opened the door. There 
sat Mrs. 0. over a young Obed's unmentionables, 

"Stitch, stitch, stitcli," 

as a woman always must. There was no more flash 
in her eye, but a shade of sadness rested on her 
brow. As she looked up, Obed said, "Well, I've 
thought that question all over, and I find that the 
first match was of divine origin, and 1 think it 
probable they are still made in heaven ; but in 
transplanting, the earthly soil is so uncongenial ; so 
little care is taken in fostering the tender rootlets, 
and in after-pruning, that the 'matrimony-vine' 
grows thorns, becomes knotty, and brings compara- 
tively little fruit to perfection, and divorces are 
resorted to as an end of trouble." 



-35— 

There was a smile on the cheek of the wife, a 

tear glistened in her eye, and, well, no 

matter ; youthful usages will sometimes repent 
themselves in maturer years — she said, " When you 
vex me I sometiriies wish I never had had you, hut 
if I hadn't, I know I should always have wished 
I had." This Obed believes to be the embodiment 
of a universal sentiment among women, relative to 
their husbands. 

There were no more bantering words in the 
home of Obed that evening, but all was peaceful 
and serene. 










r^^>S\^|^.^f^^2>#^ 





OBED VISITS WATEKFOKD. 



" There's to be a grand gatliering of my braves 
and bravesses at Water ford for inspection and drill ; 
come over and help ns." Thus wrote the Grand 
Sacliem of the Pedagogues of Erie county to Obed, 
and that individual responded, " I go, sir," and at 
the time appointed he went. 

lie had heard much of the classic beauty of 
the place, and hence was not slow in gathering up 
his satchel and umbrella when the brakeman sang 
out " Water-ford !" Once upon the platform, his 
bright visions were mercilessly dispelled, for there 
Obed stood in the midst of a little clump of build- 
ings "stuck in the mud," and his heart was fast 
sinkins: within him when from the midst of a lux- 



—38— 

uriaiit growth of red wliiskers there came floating 
in silvery tones, " Only ten cents to go up town in 
this 'ere conveyance." Placing two bright nickels 
in the warm hand of the fiery headed Jehu, Obed 
mounted to a pleasant seat in what was evidently 
a pic-nic vehicle, and with him a jovial, partially 
bald, very talkative gentleman, running over full 
of health suggestions. Jehu mounted the box, drew 
his reins, gave his crackerless whip an old fashioned 
stage-coach flourish, and was off in advance of the 
regular buss. 

" Stop at a hotel gentlemen ?" said Jehu, as his 
team went splashing througli the mud. 

" Don't wish to stop here," said Obed. 

"Good hotels?" said the gentleman with the 
shiny crown. 

" The EiKjh is a grand house," replied Jehu. 

" Take us to the Eagle then," responded the 
man of health, I always prefer Eagle to Crow. Get 
good bread, good butter, good water and good air, 
driver?" 

" All good, sir," came down from the box. 

" What's remarkable about this town ?" said 
Obed. 

"What's remarkable? why, George Washing- 
ton." 



-39- 

"Well, what of him?" 

" Wliy, he came here and put up for several 
days." 

" At the Eagle ?" 

" To be sure." 

" Do any of your people remember him 7" 

" The landlord remembers him well ; whoa !" 

Obed and his new-made friend alighted and 
liastened to the capacious bar-room, where a great 
wood fire, resting upon old-fashioned andirons, 
roared up the chimney just as Obed had seen fires 
in his boyhood. Behind the bar stood a fine look- 
ing old gentleman whose whitened locks bespoke 
the Days Lavr/ 8i/ne, He was evidently one of the 
first inhabitants. 

"So you'r the landlord," said Obed. 

" So they say." 

" And you remember George Washington ?" 

" None better." 

" And he put up at the Eagle when he was out 
for Mr. Dinwiddle?" 

" He stopped here." 

" Well, landlord, give us the room that George 
occupied, will you ?" 

" Here, Joe, take these gentlemen to No. 24," 
and Obed and his friend were soon enjoying them- 



— 40— 

selves in the occui)ancy of the strong hold desig- 
nated. 

The Grand Sachem greeted Obed with much 
cordiality, and they went in and out together before 
the great assembly, enjoying, in the meantime, the 
hospitalities of the Eagle. The council was a 
pleasant one to look upon. There were line looking 
young men, and pleasant young maidens, and 
maidens not so young, and Obed said to himself, 
" These are the teachers of the county. Into their 
hands are committed great destinies, and it is well 
they are thus gathered together for instruction and 
improvement." 

There was one thing however, that struck Obed 
as peculiar — the great excess in number of ladies. 
" Little," said Obed, " did the great Horace think 
when he said, 'Go West, young man,' that he was 
doing so much towards hastening that Scripture 
period when 'Seven women shall la}^ hold on one 
man,' but if it must come in my day, let me fall 
into the hands of the allotted number of Erie 
county school marms." Thus Obed said. 

Being something of a newspaper man, Obed 
went up to the Astonisher office, but as Mrs. Aston- 
isher was out, and the little Astonishers were 
nowhere to be seen, he was forced to leave with his 



—41- 



curiosity unsatisfied, 
affliction. 



This to Obed was a great 









lAJJl^h 



-— ^.^!| - rrf fn|"rfrrr!.r||| f 
~ i!!:"'lli!iln'l|li' 




^cxt XjelBoe-o-f as ret-a.ilt, ITOS ; 'b-vjLr^n.eoL, Ivlarcla. 21st, 

iaes. 



There are places of historic interest whieli 
Obed must needs visit, so on a pleasant afternoon 
he sallied out and wandered around the site of the 
old Fort. Here was the cellar with its walls in a 
good state of preservation. In it the French stored 
their ammunition as well as other necessaries. 
From this ran the subterranean passage down to 
the spring by the creek's side from which they pro- 
cured their water. Little else remains of Fort 



-42- 

LeBoeuf in which St. Pierre courteously received 
the youthful Washington and gave his decided 
refusal to relinquish the Ohio country, and from 
whose enclosure started the expedition which 
demolished the English fortifications at the con- 
fluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela, and 
on its site erected Fort du Quesne. Satisfied with 
his survey of the Fort, Obed walked down to the 
point whence the fleet of birch canoes put off* on 
this expedition down the Allegheny. Thence he 
wandered over to the hill where the future father 
of his country made his rude camp, and wrote a 
part of that journal whose occasion introduced him 
and Waterford to immortality, and which needs no 
excuse for being inserted here. 

" December 7th. At twelve o'clock we set out 
(from Venango) for the Fort, (LeBoeuf ) but were 
prevented arriving there until the 11th, by exces- 
sive rains, snows and bad traveling through many 
mires and swamps, these we were obliged to pass 
to avoid crossing, which was impossible, either by 
fording or rafting, the water was so high and rapid. 

" We passed over much good land since we left 
Venango, and through several very extensive and 
rich meadows, one of which, I believe, was nearly 



-43- 

fbur miles in length and considerably wide in some 
places. 

" December 12th. I prepared early to wait upon 
the commander, and was received and conducted to 
him by the second officer in command. I ac- 
quainted him with my business and offered my 
commission and letter, both of which he requested 
me to keep until the arrival of Monsieur Reparte, 
captain at the next fort, who was sent for and ex- 
pected every hour. 

" The commander is a knight of the military 
order of St. Louis, and named Legardeur de St. 
Pierre. He is an elderly gentleman, and has much 
the air of a soldier. He was sent over to take the 
command immediately upon the death of the late 
General, and arrived here about seven days before 
me. 

"At two o'clock the gentleman who was sent 
for arrived, when I offered the letter &c., again, 
which they received, and adjourned into a private 
apartment for the captain to translate, who under- 
stood a little English. After he had done it, the 
commander desired I would walk in and bring my 
interpreter to peruse and correct it, which I did. 

" December 13th. The chief officers retired to 
hold a council of war, which gave me an oppor- 



—44— 

tunity of taking the dimensions of the fort, and 
making what observations I could. 

" It is situated on the south or west fork of 
French creek, near the water, and is ahnost sur- 
rounded by the creek, and a small branch of it, 
which forms a kind of island. Four houses com- 
posed the .sides. The bastions are made of piles 
driven into the ground, standing more than twelve 
feet above it, and sharp at the top, with port holes 
cut for cannon, and loop holes for the small arms 
to fire through. There are eight six-pound pieces 
mounted in each bastion, and one piece of four 
pounds before the gate. In the bastions are a guard- 
house, chapel, doctor's lodging, and the command- 
er's private store, round which are laid platforms 
for the cannon and men to stand on. There are 
several barracks without the fort, for the soldiers' 
dwellings, covered wdth bark and some with boards, 
made chiefly of logs. There are also several other 
houses, such as stables, smith's shop, etc. 

" I could get no certain account of the men 
here, but according to the best judgment I could 
form, there are a hundred, exclusive of officers, of 
whom there are many. I also gave orders to the 
people who were with me to take an exact account 
of the canoes which were hauled up to convey their 



-45- 

forces down in the Spring. This they did, and told 
fifty of birch bark and a hundred and seventy of 
pine, besides many others which were blocked out 
in readiness for being made. 

" December 14th. As the snow increased very 
fast, and our horses daily became weaker, I sent 
them off unloaded under the care of Barnaby 
Curran and two others, to make all convenient dis- 
patch to Venango, and there to await our arrival, if 
there was a prospect of the river's freezing, if not, 
then to continue down to Shanapin's Town, at the 
forks of Ohio, and there wait until we came to cross 
the Allegheny, intending myself to go down by 
water, as I had the offer of a canoe or two. 

" As I found many plots concerted to retai'd the 
Indians' business, and prevent their returning with 
me, I endeavored all that lay in my power to frus- 
trate their schemes, and hurried them on to exe- 
cute their intended design. They accordingly 
pressed for admittance this evening, which at length 
was granted them, privately, to the commander and 
one or two other officers. The Half King told me 
that he offered the wampum to the commander, 
who evaded taking it, and made many fair promises 
of love and friendship ; said he wanted to live in 
peace and trade amicably with them, as a proof of 



-46- 

which, he would send some goods immediately 
down to Log's Town for them. But I rather think 
the design of that is to bring away all our strag- 
gling traders they meet with, as I privately under- 
stood, they intended to carry an officer, &c., with 
them. And what rather confirms this opinion, I 
was inquiring of the commander by what author- 
ity he had made prisoners of several of our Eng- 
lish subjects. He told me that the country be- 
longed to them; that no Englishman had a right to 
trade upon those waters, and that he had orders to 
make every person prisoner who attempted it on the 
Ohio, or the waters of it. 

" I inquired of Captain Reparte about the boy 
that Was carried by this place, as it was done while 
the command devolved upon him, between the 
death of the late General and the arrival of the 
present. He acknowledged that a boy had been 
carried past, and that the Indians had two or three 
whitemen's scalps, (I was told by some of the 
Indians at Venango, eight,) but pretended to have 
forgotten the name of the place the boy came from, 
and all the particular facts, though he had ques- 
tioned him for some hours as they were carrying 
past. I likewise inquired what they had done with 
John Trotter and James McClocklan (McLaughlin), 



—47— 

two Pennsylvania traders whom they had takeH 
with all their goods. They told me they had been 
sent to Canada, but were now returned home. 

" This evening I received an answer to his 
honor, the Governor's letter, from the commandant." 
Omitting the letter, the Journal continues : 
" December 15th. The commandant ordered 
a plentiful store of liquor, provisions, &c , to be put 
on board our canoes and appeared to be extremely 
complaisant, though he was exerting every artifice 
which he could invent to set our Indians at variance 
with us, to prevent them going until after our 
departure ; presents, rewards, and everything which 
could be suggested by him or his officers. I cannot 
say that ever in my life I suffered so much anxiety 
as I did in this affair. I saw that every stratagem 
which the most fruitful brain could invent was 
practiced to win the Half King to their interest, 
and that leaving him there was giving them the 
opportunity they aimed at. I went to the Half 
King and pressed him in the strongest terms to go ; 
he told me that the command would not discharge 
him until the morning. I then went to the com- 
mandant and desired him to do their business, and 
complained of ill-treatment ; for keeping them, as 
they were part of my company, was detaining me. 



—48— 

This he promised not to do, but to forward my 
journey as much as he coukl. He protested he did 
not keep them, but was ignorant of the cause of 
their stay, though I soon found it out. He had 
promised them a present of guns, &c., if they would 
wait until morning. As I was very murh pressed 
by the Indians to wait this day for them. I con- 
sented, on a promise that nothing should hinder 
them in the morning." 

The following from the journal of the IGth, 
written after leaving, shows up the strategy of bolii 
parties on the morning of final departure. 

"The French were not slack in their inventions 
to keep the Indians this day also, but as they were 
obliged, according to promise, to give the present, 
they then endeavored to try the powers of liquor, 
which I doubt not would have prevailed at any 
other time than this, but I urged and insisted with 
the King so closely upon his word, that he refrained 
and set off with us as he had engaged." 

Now, far as the eye can reach are to be seen 
field, farm house and evidence of culture; then all 
was wild, sombre, and savage. A solitary muskrat, 
swimming along at the base of the hill, was the 
only lineal descendant of that long ago. Musing 
of the wonderful man who, one hundred and 



-49— 

twent^'-five years before, drew his blanket around 
him and lay down lo sleep beneath the tall pines 
that capped the little eminence. Obed retraced his 
steps and took a drink from the spring, from which 
Indian and Frenchman alike slacked his thirst. 
The fountain is measurably secluded, and filled 
with beautiful trout. Having no piscatorial procliv- 
ities, he cast in no hook. Obed did not. 

A country churchyard has a charm for Obed 
as he expects to go out some day feet first, and tiike 
possession of a retired lot in one. " Tliere's a quiet 
old yard down west of town," said mine host of 
the Eagle, and to it Obed bent his steps. The little 
city showed marks of age, and the rude brown 
stones covered with moss, s[)oke of the affections of 
fifty, sixty and seventy years ago when husband, 
wife or child was laid away in a plain board coffin 
for the " sleep that knows no waking." They rest 
amid brambles, thorn and general dilapidation, for 
the new city, with carriage-ways, monuments, cask- 
ets and sleeping rooms, is more inviting to a resi- 
dence in its pretentious abodes. " In a few more 
years," mused Obed, " wheat and corn will be wav- 
ing over these silent homes. Then there will be 
canibalism in Waterford, for somebody will be eat- 
ing his grandfather." 



-so- 

" Waterford Academy, MDCCCXXII," caught 
the eye of Obed, on an old stone front, and the door 
being opened he entered and passed through the 
halls where for more than fifty years have echoed 
the footsteps of the seekers after knowledge. There 
upon the walls were the names of those rendered 
immortal by a single stroke of the pencil, and un- 
mistakable evidence of the fact that 

" Th". Yank'^e boy, before he's sent to school, 
"Well knows the mystery of that inigic tool, 
The pocket knife." 

As Obcd stood and mused he thought of the then 
and now of pedagogics ; of the changes that have 
wrought in methods, instruction and discipline since 
those old walls were built ; then he remembered to 
have heard it said that Waterford has furnished 
more prominent men than any other township in 
the county, and he mentally exclaimed, " This old 
building explains it all ; blessed be the memory of 
those who builded it, and those who have carried it 
on ;" and echo answered, " Blessed." 

But the time set by Mrs. Obed for his return 
had arrived, and there was nothing for him to do 
but to return to the hotel. Suiting his actions to 
his necessities, he returned, and, taking an affec- 
tionate leave of the Grand Sachem and the gay old 



liost of the Eagle, and consigning himself to the 
tender mercies of the fiery headed Jehu, he was soon 
homeward bound, mentall}^ vowing if ever invited 
to Waterford again, he would certainly go. Thus 
Obed vowed. 



OBED AT THE HEAD. 



It was summer, warm and genial, and Strong 
Vincent Post of the " Boys in Blue " advertised an 
encampment, with hard tack and beans, at the 
Head. Having had some experience in blue 

clothes, hard tack and s b , Obed resolved 

to play " comrade." Suiting the act to the resolu- 
tion, having first obtained the consent of Mrs. Obed, 
who has a great aversion to everything that looks 
in the remotest degree like war, he took the 
cars on the morning appointed and was soon in 
the city and making his way, in a headlong manner, 
down State street towards the dock. 



—52— 

Once on board the Hunter, his ticket for the 
beans safely secured next his — stomach, and pass- 
ing out from the dilapidated docks, Obed. fell to 
musing, a practice to which he is much given, 
sometimes to the great discomfort of even his near- 
est friends — Mrs. and the young Obeds, for instance. 
In his imagination he saw the Bay as it was a 
hundred years ago, visited only by an occasional 
sail, for the steamboat man had not then been 
invented. Instead of the spires of a busy city, a 
rude fortress occupied the lonely shore from which 
scarce a wily Indian came down to ripple the quiet 
waters with his birchen canoe. These things Obed 
saw, and more. Settlers came; a hut village sprang 
up ; soldiers went and came ; one morning the 
post band played the funeral diige, and brave boys 
laid "Mad Anthony," at the "foot of the flag 
staff" to wait the reveille of the judgment morn- 
ing ; he saw the youthful Perry, as under his 
master hand there sprang up, as by magic, that 
renowned fleet that, once " lightered " over the bar, 
sallied out, " met the enemy and they are ours ;" 
he saw the thriving village become a naval station, 
and then a lake city at whose expanding wharves 
a busy commerce plied ; he heard a shrill neigh, 
and the " iron horse " was on the Lake Shore, and 



—53— 

for a time there was " war in Erie," and when 
peace was restored the wharves began to rot as the 
city extended herself inland, and Obed wondered if 

ever serial navigation would " Ticket, sir," 

said a "blue" labeled "67," and the rectangular form 
of his pasteboard was soon destroyed, and Obed's 
revery was at an end. It was ended. 

The Hunter was now far out on the Bay, and 
Obed felt at liberty to take a survey of the crowd of 
strangers around him. It possessed all the charac- 
teristics of an excursion. There were men, women 
and children ; young men and maidens — not so 
young ; elegant perfumes, and fumes not so elegant 
— " But then, it is only twenty-five cents, and who 
can't afford a little extra touch," said Obed, half 
aloud. " What's that, sir ?" said a demure-looking 
individual — " Show your tickets to the guard," 
sang out a military voice, and looking up, Obed 
})orceived that one-half of the company was already 
upon the dock, and he also made haste to go ashore. 

Once on terra firma, Obed hastened to carry into 
execution the resolution he had formed to scrape 
many acquaintances, and he succeeded admirably, 
for beneath the badge of the " Grand Army " 
there's a warm heart for all comrades. Here he 



—54— 

met one with an unpleasant limp. "How was it, 
old boy ?" " A bullet through the knee at Gaines' 
Mill." There he accosted a man with a bad scar on 
his face, supplemented by another on the back of 
the neck. '"Twas a warm reception at Cold Har- 
bor." Two canes told the story of cold lead through 
the spine at Antietam. A crutch and a cane re- 
counted the story of Fredericksburg, and an empty 
sleeve revived the " Battle above the clouds." Sit- 
ting down by a pleasant fellow with two staffs, Obed 
laid his hand familiarly upon his femur — 'twas a 
regular " patent thing." " The flesh and blood," 
said his new made friend, " are resting at Five 
Forks." "Gone on the retired list," said Obed. 

At the Head, Obed met the army of the 
Potomac, the siegers of Vicksburg ; those who 
" marched with Sherman to the sea," and heroes of 
Gettysburg. He "took rations" again from the 
" Commissary Department," dipped his coffee 
from a "black sally," and cracked jokes at the 
" mess board ;" he sat again on the drum head and 
laughed at the mock review, and as he noted the 
rapture of Young America, closely resembling that 
exhibited on "General Training Day " forty years 
ago, the days of his boyhood came across his mind, 
and he repeated, — 



— 5S- 

" O were yoii ne'er a school boy ? 

And did you never train, 
And feel that swelling of the heart, 

You ne'er can feel again ?' 

The sun was far out over the lake, the "light 
fantastic toe " was tripping it to the sound of the 
merry music, and Obed, as he looked over the rest- 
less throng said, '" The crow foot is marking the 
brave men of sixteen years ago, and the 'boys' of 
that day are becoming tinged with a loyal gray. 
We light our camp fires, but there come fewer and 
fewer to enjoy their genial warmth; 

'Our numbers dwindle year by year. 
Our comrades seek the other shore.' " 

Just then the whistle sounded, and as he 
caught the bright reflection of the sum from the 
bosom of old Erie, Obed remembered 'tis written, 
"In tlije evening time it shall be light," and he 
took his departure homeward with this petition in 
his heart for all his " comrades :" 

" So live that when command is given : 
'Break ranks', we leave the drill below, 
To bivouac in the camp of Heaven." 



OBED ON STRIKES. 



" You are too late, sir; the strike has reached 
us at last," said the gentlemanly agent at North 
East, as Obed, a stranger to all about, carne up for 
the purpose of making a shipment. Thus it was, 
click, click, click had gone the telegraph unceasing- 
ly for two, three, four days, announcing that first one 
road then anothei" had succumbed to ignoble, if not 
unreasonable demands, until finally the Lake Shore 
was no exception. All travel was suspended ; the 
business interests of the country stood paralyzed, 
and riot was laying vandal hands on much that 
was fair and valuable. 

Obed looked at the agent, then up and down 
the track, and then at the perishable fruit he 
wished to send to some distant friends, and his 
thoughts were not of the pleasantest nature. But 
th«n there was no use breaking the third com- 
mandment, and as he turned him about and pre- 
pared to go into the canning business, his memory 



— S7- 

was busy, for he has observed that strikes are pecu- 
liar inslitutions, and that most people have at some 
time indulged in them. In fact, Obed himself has 
been a striker. His experience runs in this wise : — 

When quite a little child he wished to go visit- 
ing with his parents, so he put on his happiest face 
and his kindest manner. He was most bewitching 
on tliat occasion, but it was of no use; he could 
not go. Then he struck — threw himself U]>on the 
floor, distorted his face and uttered hideous screams. 
Here the majesty of the law in the person of the 
elder Obed came in, and soon an urchin, artistically 
turned up, was heard exclaiming, " Oh ! don't, 
don't, father; I won't do so any more." The strike 
was suppressed, and Obed was a wiser child. 

Again, in his school days, when the teacher 
was calling to afternoon lessons by beating lustily 
on the sash with a Daboll's arithmetic, Obed and 
three of his companions struck — for the skating 
pond. An hour later there was music in the old 
sohoolhouse. A concert of human voices led by 
the sharp thuds of a well seasoned gad. One more 
strike was suppressed. When he returned home 
that night Obed had nothing but words of praise 
for that teacher — he was so kind and attentive. 
Those were the days when children never made 



—58- 



mention of discipline at school. Obed was a wiser 
boy. 

It was long years after the above, and Obed was 




O-ra.ia.d.fa.tlierO'bea.'sm.etli.oa. cf s-u.ppressixi.g' a. Stride. 

With a slight variation from Patrick Henry, the old gentle- 
man was wont to say, " I have but one lamp b}^ which my hand 
is guided, and that is the lamn of experience." 



in the midst of a delightful morning dream, in 
which wealth, and honor, and fame were all gather- 
ing around him, that a sharp voice exclaimed in 
his ear, " Obed, Obed, get up and start a fire!" He 
raised himself gently upon his elbow, but soon sank 
gracefully back upon his pillow. It was but for a 
moment. A sharp thrust in the ribs, and, " Obed ! 
Obed ! I tell you get up ; it's house-cleaning day, 
and Nancy Jones will be here before we're out of 
bed," brought him to a realization of the situation. 
He arose and went mechanically about the duties 
of the hour, continually revolving in his mind the 
glories of that wonderful dream. Breakfast over, 
Mrs. Obed directed him to remove the parlor stove 
to the sitting room and readjust it. Now if there 
is anything in the wide world that Obed hates to 
meddle with, it is a stove and pipe. He has heard 
good men utter fearful words whilst attempting to 
fit dissimilar joints ; and he knows that really pious 
men indulge in wicked thoughts on such occasions ; 
so lest he should be betrayed into one of these 
follies, he watclied his opportunity when Mrs. Obed 
was busy, and struck — down town. Thus Obed 
struck. 

Down town he stayed until near noon. Then 
he put in an appearance at home. There stood the 



—66— 

stove, and near it stood Mrs. O., broom in hand. 
" Now, sir," said a pair of thin lips, " tend to that 
stove !" Obed surveyed the situation for a moment. 
There stood the commander-in-chief of the house- 
hold with the implement of her authority well 
poised. In the background stood Nancy as a kind 
of " reserved force." There was determination in 
two pair of eyes. With Obed discretion had long 
been the better part of valor. That stove was soon 
adjusted without a swear. The clouds broke, and 
domestic sunshine blessed a hearty dinner. Obed 
was a wiser man. 

Various are the causes for which men strike. 
Obed remembers that the first one on record was 
made for an increase of knowledge — a very worthy 
object, 'tis true. There came of it "fig-leaf aprons" 
and death. Then Cain struck for the elevation of 
his craft, and as a result Adam turned sexton and 
the striker received a slit in the ear and a home in 
the " land of Nod," since which time it has been 
habitual for deacons to sleep in church. Many 
people pattern after the deacons. 

All Israel went on a big strike down in Egypt, 
and did the greatest job of borrowing that ever was 
known ; and yet, as is generally the case with strik- 
ers, they got an elephant on their hands. It took 



—61— 

them forty years to learn to manage him, and he 
proved breachy ever afterwards. 

The Barons put up a good job of striking on 
John at Runny Mede, which has only been eclipsed 
by that of Jonathan on his old mother in '76. 
These, much as we delight in them, were fraught 
with much of evil and suffering, and have been the 
prolific parents of a host of similar strikes, lacking 
the principle, but having all the nerve and spirit. 
The sacrifice of property and life under such cir- 
cumstances has been fearful. 

Reflecting on these things, Obed has concluded 
that when men 

" Strike for their altars and their fires ; 
Strike for the green graves of their sires, 
God and their native land," 

it is all right, and they should succeed. But when, 
on the contrary, they 

Strike, evil passions to inspire ; 
Strike for the things that none require, 
For anarchy and "sand," 

there should be miserable failure. Personal and 
public happiness depend upon law and order. By 
these let all the people stand. Let parents impress 
ihem upon the sensibilities of childhood. Let 
teachers instill them into the mind of youth, and 



—62— 

wives insist that their liege lords shall carry them 
out in their daily lives. Above all, let not great 
municipalities encourage riot, theft and arson, against 
even a soulless corporation ; for at best the act is 
dangerous, and may become an expensive luxury, 
tarnishing even legislative reputation. 



OBED'S DAY AT FAIR POINT. 



Obed had heard of the beauties, the privileges, 
and the piety of Fair Point, and for a long time 
had desired to visit it. At length a leisure day pre- 
sented itself, and, that he might enjoy it in full, he 
took time by the forelock and started the evening 
previous. 

Once aboard the train and moving, he gazed 
with delight upon the beautiful scenery constantly 
presenting itself. The faces about him were all 
strange, so Obed had nothing to do but gaze in 



-63- 

silence. This he did until a change of cars for the 
" Cross Cut" brought new scenes and new com- 
panions. Here was a stripling from the east, hav- 
ing a worm medicine of rare virtue, the fruits of 
which, carefully bottled, he was triumphantly ex- 
hibiting ; there was a man from Indiana with" an 
opera glass at his eye, a tongue loaded with " I 
declare," and a soul full of Sunday school enthu- 
siasm ; yonder were several ladies with a full assort- 
ment of band-boxes and babies, chattering like so 
many magpies. " Fair Point" was on the tongues 
of all these, and they were happy in their antici- 
pations. The medicine man iu the misery he 
should relieve, and the harvest he should reap ; the 
Hoosier in beholding those on whom the mantle of 
the immortal Raikes has fallen, and the ladies in 
the delightful passtimcs and the sweet rest they 
were to have. As for Obed, he was happy in ob- 
serving the earnestness and comicalities of his com- 
panions, and the delightful scenery through which 
he was passing, and as he looked out upon the 
signs of advancing civilization he mentally ex- 
claimed, " Lo, the poor Indian," and he presumes 
in a minute more he would have dived right into 
the hole that the " wild fox dug, unscared," had not 
the conductor just then sung out " Mayville !" 



-64- 

Then came the bustle and excitement incident to a 
change from car to steamboat, and Obed was soon 
afloat on the beautiful lake, now glittering in the 
evening twilight, and whose shores are rich in 
legendary tales. 

As the steamer glided away, and he looked 
upon the pleasure-boats on every hand, the occu- 
pants merrily enjoying the cool of the evening, his 
exclamation was, " The red man bathed his limbs 
in this sedgy lake in the long ago, and its waters 
were broken by his birchen canoe j^ears before the 
race of Fulton's began." To what flights of fancy 
his imagination might have risen, on other people's 
language, Obed knows not, had not a display of 
lights resembling the glitter of gas jets in front of 
a theatre, just then attracted his attention. " What's 
that?" inquired our hero. "Fair Point," replied 
the Captain. Feeling that behind such lights there 
must be a happy place and some fun, Obed seated 
himself upon the bow of the boat, and gave himself 
up to pleasing meditations until the craft touched 
the dock, where he descended, and for two pieces of 
silver purchased pass-ports to the " Elysian Fields" 
of his expedition. 

Once within the gate, he inquired of a man, 
selling peanuts and candy, the way to the sanctum 



—65— 



of the scribes who write up the doings of the Fair 
Pointers. "0 just you go up to the Auditorium 
and the pump, and you'll see it— who'll have 
another glass V" said the dealer. Remarking that 
he knew nothing about their Horium, which caused 
a smile among the bystanders, Obed passed on and 
soon came to a vast multitude of people who were 
listening to some men, seated in a great box con- 
siderably elevated above the rest, as they arose and 
told, one after another, of the wonderful deeds of 
some good men who had recently died. Some, it 
appeared, had been great preachers, and another 
had been a man of song. As he listened to the 
words of praise, interspersed as they were with ex- 
cellent music, Obed wondered if ever there was a 
memorial service for the great "Preacher of 
righteousness," or if any u-aterlng place ever set aside 
a day in commemoration of the " Sweet singer of 
Israel." 

The exercises drawing to a close, Obed sought 
out the place of the scribes, a kind of ten by four- 
teen foot arrangement, very plain in its appliances, 
but all a-Flood with Moor6-of-Dobbs than anybody 
else except an unclerical-looking chap, who pos- 
sessed the rare faculty of deciphering quail tracks 



—66— 

without flinching, even in presence of ministerial 
dignity. 

After a pleasant chat, Obed was informed that 
the time when all Pointers must retire was at hand, 
and if he didn't want to be "policed" he must find 
a place to burrow, and was kindly directed to the 
General Office for further information. This, after 
some wandering, he succeeded in finding and was 
sent thence to the keeper of the keys of the '' Land 
of Nod " for all wayfarers on the Point. Here, 
after paying two pieces of silver he was put in tow 
of a small honest faced bo}', in whose wake he fol- 
lowed for half an hour through mazy streets and 
tangled wild wood, and then returned to the " place 
whence he came " for repairs, a new number and a 
new start. Some minutes brisk walk brought him 

to No. 42 Avenue, where he was consigned to 

the tender mercies of a benevolent-looking gentle- 
man who led him up a narrow stair into a hall of 
indefinite length, but four feet wide, and split in 
in the middle by a row of sheets suspended from 
the joists above. Behind these, as nearly as he 
could judge, were several ladies suspended from 
pins in the studding. One of these, that is, one of 
the ladies cried out in a squeakX! voice, " Laws a 
massy ! don't bring a man in here !" and a gruff 



-67- 

fellow, whom Obed thought to be leaned up in an 
adjoining corner, growled out something about 
thieves, when the host remarked that the gentleman 
with him had an honest countenance, and all sub- 
sided into silence, and the work of bed making pro- 
ceeded. This consisted in spreading out an unusu- 
ally long saw horse, to the ribs of which was firmly 
attached a piece of canvass eighteen inches wide 
and five feet long ; across one end was laid a bundle 
of straw, and over all was spread an "army blanket" 
which had evidently seen service, the whole re- 
minding Obed of the days of his military experience. 
When all was ready, his host bade him a kind good- 
night, and slowly and sadly Obed turned in. As 
he did so, he remembered the couch of his boyhood, 
prepared by a mother's careful hand, and he re- 
peated, with slight variation, as her sainted lips 
had taught him, 

" Now I lay me ttp to sleep." 

The words had a soothing eff'ect on the mind of 
Obed, and he wassoon in the land of dreams, in 
which Sunday school exercises, memorial services, 
summer resorts, and various pursuits of pleasure 
were continually rising before him. 

At early dawn Obed was on his feet. His 
ablutions performed and prayers, few and short, 



—68— 

said, he set out for the " Holy Land." A single 
Arab of the tribe of Abou Van-Lennep had pre- 
ceeded him. As he appeared perfectly civil, not 
even demanding " buchesh," Obed felt perfectly at 




OToed. laid, "vj-p to sleep. 



ease. After wandering through the " hill country 
of Judea," he " went down to Samaria," and thence 
ascended to Mount Carniel, and took a view of the 
Plain of Sharon and the " Great Sea." Leaving 
this, he came down across " Esdradon," passed 
through " Nazareth," and soon stood by " deep 
Galilee," upon which the first rays of the morning 



sun were now resting. Having satisfied himself 
that no " fisherman " would cast in his net that 
morning, he departed " to " Mount Tabor," and 
then " came down " and " crossed over Jordan," 
only to traverse " Bashan " and the "Land of 
Moab." This done he came round the " Dead Sea," 
and stood at the eatrance of " Machpelah " in 
" Hebron." As he did so, thoughts of that first 
dealing in real estate of the long ago, and the many 
" six feet by two " transfers since, and as he went 
up to " Jerusalem " the myriad of hallowed scenes 
connected with the '■ Land of Promise," where the 

" Holy and Just with the people sat down," 

went flitting through his mind, and he was glad that 
God had put it into the heart of the great " Mow- 
ing macliine" man to transfer the "Land" in 
miniature, to the banks of beautiful Chautauqua, 
where untold thousands may come, and in pleasant 
pastimes, learn so much of the ivord. 

When he had gazed his fill, Obed went up to 
view the city. She was just beginning to put on 
her morning activity, and as he threaded her 
avenues, bearing the names of the immortal dead, 
and the honored living of the church, and listened 
to the songs of thanksgiving and words of prayer 



-70- 

as they rose from cottage and tent he said, "Truly 
the groves were God's first temples." 

Like other men, Obed is subjected to sensations 
of hunger. These the rambles of the morning had 
called into vigorous activity, and he turned 
aside to a hotel and for two pieces of silver gained 
admittance. After a protracted waiting, th^re were 
set before him " ham and eggs, mutton chops, pota- 
toes, tea, and bread, butter and molasses," on which 
he fed with joy and gladness. Thus refreshed he 
went up and viewed the " pyramid," and then 
walked down to the " Oriental House," which he 
carefuU}' inspected, seeing better than ever be- 
fore how " They tore up the roof and let him down 
in the midst ;" how they " walked upon the house 
top in the evening-time and gathered themselves 
into the court in seasons of danger." 

This was a " Day of song " in which great 
multitudes took delight, but Obed delighted rather 
in studying the multitude itself In it he saw great 
bodies of divinity, some of whom had been "Doc- 
tored," whilst others were patiently waiting for the 
same pleasing process. He saw men seeking — some 
for wisdom, others for money, and not a few for 
sport. His eyes rested upon a few real Marys, 
Marthas and Dorcases were by no means unrepre- 



—71— 

sented. But Obed saw more of the frollicking, fun- 
loving, good-natured sisters of our frail humanity 
than of any other. Even " Pansy " as she strolled 
around, looking anxiously after her " Four Girles," 
was not insensible to feelings of mirthfulness. 

The day was wearing away, and the burden of 
Obed's musing was, " Fair Point is a miniature 
world in itself, presenting all the hopes and fears, 
joys and sorrows of the great one, in which we are 
all called to move and act." Thus impressed, he 
hastened to the dock, gave up his pasle-board, and 
passed without the gate, only to behold the " 3Iay- 
ville" and the '' Crriffith" " neck and neck," each 
trying to make the wharf. There was high pressure 
in the boilers, and a full head of steam on in all 
the humans that thronged the deck of the respective 
crafts. Calvary, the cross, and the Sunday school 
interests generally were lost sight of in the intense 
excitement " for our side " to beat. Tired women 
waved their handkerchiefs and invalid men, and 
grave shepherds, energetically gesticulating, lifted up 
their voices in wild hurrahs. Quietly but firmly 
the "Mowing machine" man lifted up his voice in 
behalf of order and safety. After much delay a 
landing from both boats was made without accident, 
and stepping aboard the Griffith, Obed made May- 



—72— 

ville just in time to see his train glide out of sight. 
Then a lively team " With its loved presence 
brought balm " for sixteen pieces of silver, and he 
and several new made friends remembering that 
" every cloud has a silver lining," enjoyed a most 
delightful ride across the country to Westfield, 
under the guidance of a merry Jehu, and there 
made a western bound train. A good supper and 
a soft bed soothed every disquietude in the mind of 
Obed, and he arose to the light of a new day, glad 
that he had learned by another experience the force 
ofmultum in parvo. 



CENTENNIAL KEMINISCENCES. 



The Start. 

There were sounds of labor and " notes of 
preparation" in the home of the Obeds. And where- 
fore? Obed feared he would not live to see 1976, and 
so hfc had concluded to do the next best thing, visit 
the Centennial Exposition. His companions were 
lo be his wife and a lady friend. Obed bought, and 
Mrs. Obed and her friend cut and sewed, and 
arranged as only ladies will when they are going 
abroad and will appear presentable. As for Obed, 
he contented himself with a twenty-five cent palm- 
leaf for one extremity, a pair of brogans for the 
other, and suitable hot weather garments for the 
five -feet-eight between. Such was Obed's outfit, 
arranged for business rather than pleasure. All 
things ready and the day appointed for departure 
reached, good-byes were said, and three happy 
mortals stepped aboard the train which was to bear 



—74- 

them from their rustic home to see the wonders 
which " Brother Jonathan " had invited his old 
mother and her many sisters to bring to his dwelling 
place, that he might compare notes of a hundred 
3'ears with them. Obed had heard of momentous 
occasions. As nearly as he could judge from his 
knowledge of the dictionary and the state of his 
feelings, this to him was such a one. 

The whistle sounded ; the train moved ; the 
fields glided by ; the village and the home in which 
were the young Obeds faded from sight ; trees, fields 
and forests took up a "merry whirl," and when Obed 
looked into the faces of his companions as the train 
dashed along, every lineament seemed to say 

" Bless me, this is pleasant, 
Riding on a rail." 

Soon the white farm houses and green pastures 
of Cheesedora began to give place to dust and 
smoke, general grindiness and the clink of iron, 
and he perceived that he was leaving the land of 
kine for the realm of coal. Directly the road came 
upon that great work of the fathers, the Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio Canal which, completed, was the 
glory of the projectors — for a day. Obed re- 
membered that he had plied the barrow and the 
spade on that same old ditch in the days when the 



—73— 

captain took in sails by knocking down the driver 
and the " cook " protected her eyes by taking a 
reef in the stovepipe. Now the tow-path is broken 
down, the " locks" are removed, the old barges are 
rotting all along the valley, and the " car " is the 
glory of those who once adored the " packet." 
Obed had tried both, and he was satisfied with his 
seat. 

Across the beautiful Mahoning, amid ever- 
greens and forest trees, appeared for a moment the 
marbled mementoes of the loved and lost, and Obed 
remembered that in the silent city on the hill above 
the noisy one in the valley beneath, sleeps a sister 
who had shared the sports of his boyhood in the 
long ago. Memories of the old home, of father and 
mother, brothers and sisters, who will greet him no 
more, thronged his memory, and he wiped his 
moistened eyes, saying, "By and by." 

An hour more and the Buckeye State was be- 
hind him, and Obed was breathing the air and 
drinking in the scenery of the Keystone, noble old 
State, land of Penn, and home of liberty and equal 
rights. Obed and his companions admired the 
beautiful and varied scenery through which they 
passed. He noted the many changes that had taken 
place along the Ohio since the days of his boyhood, 



—76— 

and said, " What w'ould the noble red man of '76 
say, could he look upon all these evidences of the 
Great Spirit's care for the white man ?" 

A temporary stop in the Smoky City, and Obed 
was sent out by the ladies to procure some delicacies. 
On every door save one, as he passed down the 
street, was " Lager," " Lager," " Lager." The "save 
one " was " XXX Ale." At last he came to a door 
marked, " Coffin Rooms," and he said, " A fitting 
end to this row." As he thought of the bloated , 
blear-eyed, besotted beings he had just passed, this 
ejaculation escaped him, " Wine is a mocker ; 
strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived 
thereby is not wise." 

Saddened by the sights he had seen, and dis- 
gusted with the fumes of inebriation he had in- 
haled, Obed retraced his steps, seeking no further 
for delicacies. 



Onward. 

"Ca's fo' Philade'h'a, New Yo'k, Bos'n— a' places 
Eas'," called the train crier. "All aboard," shouted 
the conductor, and Obed and his company were soon 
leaving the city of smoke and soot, of rattle and 
bang, of invincible industry, behind them. A huu- 



—11— 



dred years ago Pittsburg was a mere military trad- 
ing post, far beyond the borders of civilization ; to- 
day she is the Manchester of a Continent. "A single 
pulsation in our Titan growth," mused Obed,and the 
train reached "Braddock's Field." 

Here it was that the proud Briton shocked the 
sensibilities of the youthful, but circumspect George, 
by that historic expression, more forcible than ele- 
gant, "High times, high times, by G — d, when a 
young buckskin can teach a British General how to 
fight." Alas, poor Braddock ! He has been sold by 
the acre many times since then, and no one longer 
holds grudge against him for his treatment of him 
who soon became, "First in war ; first in peace, and 
first in the hearts of his countrymen." Obed, even, 
is not envious of the price he brings. Obed is not. 

There's a dashing along over mountain and 
down valley, iind, as darkness gathers around, the 
whistle sends its shrill notes through the train, the 
brakeman opens the door and calls out "Altoona." 
There is no chance to see, but Obed remembers that 
here in the darkest days of the Rebellion came the 
Loyal Governors and took counsel how best to stay 
up the hands of the noble President, and the no less 
worthy thousands, struggling on the field for nation- 
al existence. The world knows how well they did 



—78- 

their work, but they will meet in council no more. 
Tod — Honest Dave, sleeps in the valley he loved so 
well, and which he did so much to develop. Mor- 
ton, no longer lithe of limb as then, now lifts his 
clear voice in the chief council of the nation. Over 
the erring course of another, not over his patriot- 
ism, let us draw the mantle of forgetful ness, except 
for the lesson it teaches. Let us cherish their mem- 
ories for their sterling worth. 

Daylight revealed to Obed the beautiful scenery 
of the Susquehanna. He looked in the faces of the 
ladies. They were lengthened from yesterday ; their 
ruehes were sadly demoralized, and they eyed with 
besmoked vision, and no pleasant smile the dust and 
cinder that covered their garb. As for Obed his 
countenance was "clear as mud," and he found him- 
self in very much the same condition that Gilpin 
did after he had taken several turns in that famous 
ride of his But then, Obed and his companions 
were going to the Centennial ; they had made up 
their minds to "endure hardness," so raising a merry 
laugh, they whiled away the time in counting the 
minutes it took to pass by Tom Scott's line, under 
the streets of Baltimore; in watching the market 
women, with their baskets, and in wondering what 
the country about Washington, with its evergreen 



—79- 

shrubs and dwarfed muUens was made for. As yet, 
"no man knoweth." 

A sudden curve in the road, and the dome of 
the Capitol was in view. There was no more time for 
languor. Obed and his companions were on the — 
were on the — were on the, yes, now he has it — on the 
qui vive, which means in plain English, "on the 
lookout." Obed and his companions were on the 
lookout for objects of interest. As the train made 
its circuitous way into the city, Obed noted many 
changes since the days of the Rebellion. Once 
within the depot, a pleasant looking man cried out, 
" This way ; tree buss for the Tremont House." 
As Obed is fond of " free busses, " he accepted the 
invitation, and soon he and his companions found 
themselves in very pleasant rooms, with water, 
towels and everything essential to thorough ablu- 
tions. These performed, clean apparel donned, a 
savory meal disposed of, in the midst of the most 
assiduous attention from intelligent waiters, and the 
Obeds were ready for " business." 

At the Capitol. 

Up they went to the Capitol, the sun pouring 
at the ratfe of 105° to the minute, and Obed, as he 



-80- 

wiped the perspiration from his streaming face, was 
soon convinced that this was the pursuit of pleasure 
bj'' water. The building once reached, the visitors 
were delighted in wandering about the Rotunda, the 
various passages, Halls and Galleries ; in examin- 
ing the statuary and inspecting the paintings. Here 
Obed met face to face, George, and John, and Tho- 
mas, James I and James II, and John whose second 
name was "Q." and Andrew who was familiarly cal- 
led "Hickory," and Martin who delighted in the 
poetic appellation of "Matty Van," and a host of 
other worthies. He remembered that most of these 
had been unexceptionable boys, sons of one mother. 
To Obed it is a great thing to be an unexceptional 
boy. Such never enter the Benevolent Institutions 
of the land to pursue a course of instruction on the 
one study system. It is said to them, "Come up 
higher." Here Obed and his companions gazed up- 
on the "Landing of the Pilgrims" till, hot as it was, 
they heard 

"The dashing waves beat high 
On a stern and rock-bound coast." 

Here they saw that amiable daughter of Old 
Mrs. Powhatan as she rushed forward and saved the 
race of Smiths to the New World — an act deserving 
undying gratitude, but from which the* ruthless 



-81— 

hands of historians are trying to strip every vestige 
of artistic attitude, and rob it of all its poetic fancy. 
They contemplated with wonder and delight, the 
crowning piece of the Capitol, the "Emigration," 
whose cumbrous wagons and noble steeds ; whoso 
stalwart men and cheery women ; whose lowing herds 
and bleating flocks ; whose barking dogs and shouting 
babies, winding along valleys and scaling moun- 
tain crests, show how well the painter understood 
how the great West has been peopled. 

But the Obeds could not spend all their time 
on statuary and paintings, however worthy. They 
must see the life of the Capitol, so they made their 
way to the gallery of the "House" and looked 
down into the pit. There Obed saw a seething, 
shouting, disorderly, turbulent mass of humanity, 
and he said, "These are the sons of aunh. No one 
mother ever fciihered so much recklessness. It is 
not a good thing to be the son of one's aunt." Obed 
had been told of an " Old Boy," but has heard his 
existence questioned. Obed questioned it no longer. 
Let whosoever does, look in upon the American 
House of Representatives and he shall see not one, 
but a ''legion'' — a legion of old boys in the House of 
Representatives. v 



—82— 

Calm and quiet was the Senate Chamber. One 
gentleman blandl}' discussed the Currency Ques- 
tion, whilst about thirty others quietly chatted, po- 
lite/i/ napped, or undisturbedly poured over the 
daily news. The Senate was decorus ; but, well, 
but — 

The Departments are objects of interest in 
Washington. To these the Obeds went, but brie fly. 
Lastly, they wended their way to the "White 
House," which the iadies were particularly anxious 
to visit. Obed has many times observed that ladies 
readily gravitate towards a good house. It was so 
in this instance. The hall was entered with bated 
breath ; tlie " East Room " was threaded with noise- 
less step and wondering eye. Thus much was all 
the Obeds expected, but they were to be more than 
gratified. The races were over, and " His Ex- 
cellency " had returned the previous evening from 
Long Branch, and they were apprised by a 
polite attendant that they would be permitted to 
make him a call as soon as he had completed some 
business with a colored representative, wdiich led 
Obed to reflect that Soloman made a mistake when 
he said, " There is no new thing under the sun." 

Once ushered into the Cabinet Room, the leader 
of the party said, "Obed, from Ohio, Mr. President." 



—83— 

And "His Excellency" responded, "Mr. Obed, 
Mrs. Obed, and Mrs. Obed's friend," as he grasped 
them severally by the hand. Obed cooled himself 
with his " palmleal," the ladies made a vigorous 
use of their fans, and His Excellency wiped the 
sweat from his brow with his coat sleeve. 




-A. Tvarrrci. tiixie Idtl tlie Ca-Tsinet. 



The Obeds looked up, and His ExL-ellciicy 
looked down." Tlicy all said '•Good day," and 
that "Cabinet Meeting" stood adjourned. 

Again on the cars, the Obed.s were hurried out 
of the city of Magnificent Distances, with her 



—84— 

broad streets and beautiful parks ; her pleasant 
homes and hospitable inhabitants ; her moral tur- 
pitude and political chicanery, through the Region 
of Agricultural Despair, and under the Monumental 
City, with barely time to reflect that here, sixty-two 
years before, a prisoner on a British Man-of-War 
then hurling shot and shell at the first " American 
Flag" ever raised. Key indicted "The Star 
Spangled Banner." And Obed said, 

" Long may it wave 
O'er the Land of the Free 

And the Home of the Brave." 

Philadelphia Reached. 

Onward sped the train through ever improving 
lands ; amid homes and scenery each hour liecom- 
ing more and more attractive, until just us the sun 
rested his broad disc upon the Alleghcnies, Phila- 
delphia was called. Weary and hungry, Obed 
alighted and looked about for the man who sold 
the youthful Benjamin the " rolls." He was not .to 
be seen ; his place of business was closed — closed 
in Philadelphia, so Obed and his companions 
sought a hotel, and after a hearty supper, with the 
atmospliere at " ninety five," 

" They rajjt 
The drapery of I hdr couches round them, and lay down " 



— 8S— 



to hot Centennial dreams, in the midst of which the 
rapacious buy made haste to levy and collect his first 
bloody contribution. 




Beginning Work. 

The tlicrmometer at 05°, a close room, and 
those awful bugs, made the shrill cry of "cat fish," as 
it came up from the pavement in the early morn, 
music sweeter than any lullaby, and Obed quickly 
arose and performed his ablutions, and tried to com- 
pose his mind to a devotional frame, but he had a 
scratching time of it. 



—86- 

A good breakfast brought balm, and the excur- 
siouists soon sallied forth to enter vigorously upon 
the work in hand, and as there was no more fitting 
place to begin than 

Independence Hall, 

to this they wended their way. The "Spirit of '76," 
in the person of divers old men, dressed in the cos- 
tume of the "Continentals," had preceded them, and 
was driving a brisk business in playing news boy 
with fac similes of the journalism of a hundred 
years ago. Pushing their way ]>ast these and a 
host of otlier curiosity venders, all blessed with gen- 
uine "Bedouin" grit, though chid in Yankee habili- 
ments, they soon stood within the Hall hallowed by 
a thousand sacred memories, for here one hundred 
years before did true men "Proclaim Liberty 
throughout the land, to all the iidialiitants thereof;" 
here, during the dark days of the Revolution had 
echoed the foot steps of Washington, the Adamses, 
Hancock, Fraiiklin, Jefferson and Morris, — all the 
fathers of the Republic, — as they came and took 
counsel together ; because their counsels were wise 
and their determinations unswerving, Philadelphia 
stretches out over miles of territory and her nearly 
a million of people gave entertainment to the world ; 



-87— 

and because they fouglit, suffered and endured, a 
great people is free, prosperous and happy, offering 
an asylum to the oppressed of every clime, but 
firmly asking that they bring not the demoralizing 
institutions of their old homes to engraft upon the 
fresher, purer ones of the land of their adoption. 
Turning to the left they entered 

Independence Chamber, 

which they were informed by a picture vender, pre- 
sented much the same appearance that it did a luui- 
dred years ago. The only important change is the 
old wood floor has given placo to one of marble. 
Here they found the chair and table occupied by 
John Hancock, whilst President of the Congress of 
1776. The chairs of many of the other members 
still remain. These are of wooil, strongly made, 
with seat and arms covered with leather. 

Here, in a case prepared for the purpose, is the 
original Declaration of Independence. It has b.en 
so many times copied that the names are 'nearly 
obliterated. In the same case is the silver inkstand 
used in signing both the Declaration and the Con- 
stitution. 

On the walls they saw many portraits of dis- 
tinguished patriots of the Revolution; among them 



-88- 

that of Washington is most conspicuous, as it ever 
must be. The chandelier which lighted the fathers 
in their nightly sittings, with its little " sticks " for 
the "tallow dip," hanging from the old ceiling, was 
in strong contrast with the gorgeous ones they were 
soon to see in the Main Building. Several of the 
old banners with the devise of the serpent, and the 
motto, " Don't tread on me," are here carefully pre- 
served. 

Across the vestibule from the Chamber the 
Obeds entered the 

National Museum, 

into which are being collected the relicts of our 
early and more modern history. They found pic- 
tures of historic interest, portraits of the Georges, 
and of American and French worthies, on the 
walls. 

Obed looked long upon old Independence Bell 
and it5 unic^ue hangings of heavy timber, remember- 
ing that, though it rings no longer, its tones are by 
no means dead. He looked with reverence upon 
the " First Prayer in Congress," as the quaint old 
manuscript appeared before him, and w4th deepest 
interest on the original Charter of Philadelphia, 



—89— 

written by Penn himself. Seated \a an old church 
pew, often occupied by the worihies of long ago, 
Obed reverently laid his hands upon a piece of the 
lightening rod put by Franklin upon the " West 
Mansion" in 17(57. Ashe did so, he thought of 
the great number of " Cable " and other patents 
which have appeared as offspring of that simple 
contrivance, and of the vast amount oi negative truth 
to whicli their sale has given rise, and he was glad 
that the iniquities of the children are not visited 
upon the parents to the fourth generation, for if so, 
where would "Poor Richard" be? 

Leaving the ladies to examine the quilts, dolls 
and laces of the motliers of the Ptevohition, and feel- 
ing sorry that he could not note a hundred things 
of interest, Obed proceeded to copy the following : 

"This building commenced 1732 A. U. C. 50 
Andrew Hamilton Architect and Snperintendent 
Was occupied by tlie Legislative Assembly of Penn- 
sylvania 17;:U>to 1709 TheSuprc^me Court 1743 to 
1775 The Congress of the Union 1775 to 17S1 
Peasle's Museum 1802 to 182S The Councils of 
Philadelphia from consolidation of the liberties 
1854." 

The brick of which the Hall was built, were 
brought from England, and the original cost of the 
edifice was 5,000 pounds sterling. 



—90- 

At one of the lanJin,i>-s was found the following 
inscription, speaking volumes for tlic patriotism of 
the past and the generous emulation oflhe present: 

''The State House of Pennsylvania, consecrated 
h}'- the memories of Events that occurred within and 
under Shadow of its Walls, is dedicated by the Citi- 
zens of Philadelphia to their Fellow Countrymen of 
the United States a Perpetual Monument to the 
Founders of American Independence on the Nation- 
al Centennial Anniversary, July 4th, 1870." 

The inspection ended, the little company passed 
through the beautiful park in the rear of the build- 
ing, and made haste to reach the "Centennial 
Grounds." 



In the Main Building. 

That universal yankee expletive "wal," so ex- 
pressive of satisfaction, and of every thing else that 
is grand and glorious, burst involuntarily from the 
lips of Obed as he entered the magnificent structure, 
designed as the place ot principal exhibit. He had 
seen its mammoth proportions in the distance. He 
had looked upon its manner of construction from 
without, and admired the beauty and design of its 
workmanship. Upon all these Obed looked, but 
once upon its twenty-one and a half acres of floors, 



—91— 

with the choicest gifts of the nations spread out be- 
fore him, and the mellowed and variegated light 
from the thousands of stained panes falling over all, 
the scene battled description. Obed remembered 
that in the days of his boyhood he had read the 
"Arabian Nights," and there came floating back 
through his memory visions of genii and fairies; of 
gorgeous palaces with all their rich furnishings of 
choicest woods, and silver, and gold, and upholstery 
of damask and crimson; of their inhabitants clad in 
the rich satins and delicate laces of the Orient. 
Again he beheld that marvelous lamp which, in the 
hands of Allaain, wrought such wonders; again he 
heard the " Open sesame" which yielded up untold 
treasures at its utterance. Obed had been taught 
that all these wen only .stor/cs to please his boyish 
fancy, but never in any way to be realized. But 
were they not uiore than realized in what he saw 
around him ? 

The Vision. 

Overcome with the varied sensations of the 
scene, Obed seated himself musingly, when there 
was before him a venerable form having the impre-s 
of genius upon his brow and an irresittable energy 



—92 — 

marking his every motion. He stretched out the 
wand of science over the surging deep, and a new 
world, clad in primeval grandeur and of vast ex- 
tent, rose slowl}^ from the world of waters. Its 
people were a wild and simple race, unlike the in- 
habitants of the land of the great magician who 
had called them into view. And Obed noticed that 
when the great seer made known to his people what, 
he had done, and their souls and the souls of their 
neighbors were stirred within them, that in great 
numbers, some impelled by love of adventure, some 
by thirst for gain, and some that they might pro- 
vide a resting place for tliemselves and their loved 
ones, sought the shores of this strange land. And 
he observed further, that, as they began to plant 
homes along her borders, to dig for treasures be- 
neath her soil, to traverse her interminnble forests 
and to navigate her noble rivers in search of new 
scenes, there hovered over her fairest portions the 
form of a beautiful female. On her countenance 
there beamed a smile of conscious purity of pur- 
pose; about her brow was a crown of choicest fruits 
and grains, interwoven with the green of the "palm 
and the pine;" her garments falling in graceful 
folds about her, revealed the handiwork of every 
craft; in her left hand she held the volume of truth, 



-93- 

whilst, with her right, she extended to the nations 
the olive branch of peace. And as the people who 
had known nothing but war, and bloodshed, and 
oppression, and ignorance, saw the tokens, Obed be- 
held that men left the home and graves of their 
fathers by hundreds and by thousands, and siie ap- 
pointed them dwellings by broad bays, along wind- 
ing rivers and in fertile valleys. Wherever she 
breathed, there was the spirit of liberty. And Obed 
noted that the people constructed for themselves 
highways, and beautiful homes and churches and 
temples in which their children were taught the 
ways of knowledge ; that the dusky natives of the 
soil relultantly gave way before them ; that the 
forests, felled by the woodman, gave place to tields 
of waving grain, and in tlieir happiness the people 
called their guiding spirit the " Genius of the 
West." As Obed gazed in wonder and delight on 
all this, toward the rising sun a cloud rose dark and 
muttering, and the spirit of the East, maddened 
that liis peii[)le grew restless at the prosperity of 
their kinsfolks in their new land, came forth, all clad 
in the panoply of war, and would throttle their 
effort-^ and chain them as bondsmen to his chariot 
wheels. Then it was that Obe<l saw the matchless 
power of of the beautiful figure upon which he had 



—94— 

heretofore been gazing. Gathering her beloved 
children about her, she breathed upon them the 
spirit of her own invincible will, and bade them 
prepare for the struggle, without once doubting as 
to the result. On came the spirit of the East, lead- 
ing his minions of tyranny. Long and fierce was 
the struggle; the land was drenched in blood ; the 
hearts of the stoutest trembled for the fate of their 
cause. But Justice had unfurled her banner over 
the new land, and in her own good time the Genius 
of the West placed the sword of victory in the 
hands of one of her own braVe sons who had fol- 
lowed her with unswerving step through all her 
years of strife, and who now was enshined as first 
in the affections of all his fellows. And Obed saw 
that the spirit of the East relinquished his hold up- 
on all the ftiir land over which the spirit of liberty 
had hovered, and as he returned to his island home 
beyond the great deep, the people of the land 
gathered themselves together and said our guiding 
spirit shall no more be called the Genius of the 
West. Henceforth her name shall be Columbia, and 
the land shall be known as hers. And Columbia 
taught her people how to make laws equitable and 
just; how to rid them.selves of old vices: how to 
protect themselves against their enemies and against 



-95- 

tlicmsclves, even at the expense of blood. Under 
her guidance they quickly spread themselves over 
all the land the spirit of the East had left them, and 
much which they afterward secured, so that they 
reached even unto a great sea beyond them ; their 
cities became like the stars for number; their 
children learned wisdom in her tens of thousands 
of temples, and the people worshiped in innumer- 
able courts which themselves had builded ; th( y 
listened to the hum of spindles, the clank of looms, 
and the clink of hammers arising from their untold 
manufactories; they traveled in gorgeous palaces 
upon their rivers and lakes; they constructed 
curious roads of iron and journeyed over them in 
gilded coaches, fast as the eye could follow, their 
steel clad steeds shrieking in their headlong course ; 
they talk with each other though thousands of miles 
apart, with tongues of lightening; the earth yielded 
them her increase and the mountains opened up to 
them rich treasures of silver and gold; their ships 
rode on every sea; their fame extended to the ends 
of the earth, so that all people wondered because of 
them. 

Then Obed heard Columbia say to her people, 
" Come lot us build us a great house in the city of 
Brotherly Love that we may bring of all our mer- 



—96— 

chandises and riches into it, and invite all peoples 
to do the same, that they may come and visit and 
make merry with us on ni}^ birth day." And Obed 
saw that " They had a mind to the work." And 
they builded a great palace of iron and of glass, 
garnished with rich colors, and they brought into 
it all the glories and excellencies of the land, and 
the peo]de of every clime and tongue came with 
their offerings. Even the spirit of the East, forget- 
ting the da} of his vanquishing, came with his rich- 
est stores and treasures. And all were hap[)y as 
they looked upon the rich cloths, the gorgeous robes, 
the elaborately wrought furnitures, the aromatic 
fruits and spices, and curious compounds; the 
chandaliers glittering in silver and gold ; myriads 
of implements of every kind flashing in the sun- 
light, or listened to the strains of music as they 
came floating from instruments of rarest tone. As 
Obed gazed about him on the bewildering scene, he 
said, "Surely, I am in some enchanted land, and 
this structure of Columbia's is but a fairy palace 
which needs but the touch of her magic wand to 
dissolve it into nothingness. " Just then a friend 
from the Buckeye State tapped him on the shoulder 
and said, "What, Obed asleep at the Oentennial !" 
And he arose, rubbed his eyes, looked around and 



—1 OS- 
thousand dollars. Obed bad tbe ability to do tbe 
asking, 

" Only this and nothing more." 
The Concert. 

It is probable that nothing produces so much 
harmony in a household as the " wherewithal 6'Aa// loe 
be clothed," and as if in periect keeping witii this 
sentiment, just here there broke in rich strains of 
music, and Ohed looked up, thinking it was " in the 
air." Then it was that he first saw great organs, 
placed on high above the heads of the people, whose 
tones filled the domes and arches and then floated 
down to greet the accompaniments from 8teinway, 
and Chickering, and Bradbury, and Hamlin, and 
scores of other American pianos and organs, and the 
many brands from beyond the sea. 

Mrs. Obed and her friend went off in *' ecstatic 
raptures" over the "grand concert " but Obed was 
calm and collected, for though his soul is full of 
music, he has had but a slight introduction into the 
mysteries of tune, just enough to catch faint glimpses 
of " Yankee Doodle," " Hail Columbia," " Old Hun- 
dred," and "Rock ot x\ges " — airs full of patriotism 
and of heaven. And Obed said, there is progress in 



—106— 

all this for Columbia; not "merely material pro- 
g^ress," as some contemptuously say, but progress for 
the finer sensibilities of the soul. And Obed re- 
membered how the fathers toiled all the weary six 
days and then, resting on the seventh, in a log school 
house or rustic church, raised 

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow." 

And Obed saw those blessings as they came in 
pleasanter homes, less of begriuiming labor, tidier 
school liouses, more commodious churches and 
"forks" with which to pitch "Windham," and 
"China," and "Coronation " 

" From Greenland's icy mountains 
^o India's coi'al strand." 

Obed rejoices in the memory of that old time 
music, and congregational singing, and the institu- 
tions of the fathers, and the lullabies of the mothers, 
but he is not so "old fogyish " as. to deny that we 
are even more blessed than they, — no he is not. 
And when he remembers that " David's hands made 
the organ, and his lingers joined the psaltry " and 
that he afterwards became a great king, ruling with 
energy, Obed has no fears but our daughters will 
make wives and mothers good as those our fathers 
had, though Columbia has euabled us to fill our 



homes, our schools and our churches with "string- 
ed instruments and organs " on which they play 

"One more day's ■work for Jesus." 

Obed has honored the music of the "spindle" 
and the " shuttle " — glories in their day, but God 
has said "Man shall not live by bread alone," and 
as he thought how much he is enabling us to do for 
our children by way of refinement and culture, an 
exclamation of satisfaction escaped his lips, and a 
policeman said, " What, sirY" and Obed replied, 
" This is grand ! " Thus Obed replied. 

Arms. 

The concert ended, Obed found himself stand- 
ing beside a "Gatling Gun," a gun " fearfully and 
wonderfully made," carrying its 4| ounce balls two 
miles, at the rate of 300 per minute. It was Obed's 
to look admiringly on, this time, while Mrs. 0. and 
her friend, obeying their feminine impressions, kept 
at a respectful distance. The old lady's opinion of 
a gun was uppermost in their minds. Not so with 
Obed. He had handled " arms," and so having 
pronounced this "Gatlihg" none of your ordinary 
" shooters," he was off among the offerings of " Mars," 
that he might see what the bloody god is construct- 
ing as implements of his craft. 



— 108- 

And Obed saw guns; guns long, and guns sliort; 
guns richly mounted, and guns mounted to kill ; 
guns wrought by Columbian hands, and guns from 
" Celestial " climes ; guns of the most approved 
European models, and guns of South American de- 
vice ; guns from every land, each speaking some 
peculiarity of its people, and silently telling its 
deadi}^ purpose. Obed saw pistols ; pistols from 
Worcester and Springfield ; pistols from Berlin and 
Paris; pistols from a hundred marts in all the world 
beside; pistols robed in silver and burnished with 
gold; pistols grouped in the most fantastic manner 
as festoons, as bedsteads, as gaily dresssd dolls with 
their little butts resting on downy pillows ; but 
Obed knew there was death in the breeches of them 
all. 

There were swords in abundance ; swords from 
Chicopee and Birmingham ; "Toledo Blades," that 
spoke of Morish cavaliers, and scymitars from Da- 
mascus, that carried him back in imagination until 
he almost saw Abraham arm his servants from her 
traders; David sending down^ his agents to bargain 
for new supplies at her manufactories ; Peter adroitly 
shaving the side of Malchus' head, and the stalwart 
crusaders, parrying with their heavy broad swords, 



— 109— 

the well aimed thrusts of the wiley Moslems' steel ; 
swords 

" Whose diamonds lischt the passage of their blades," 

And Obed beheld battleaxes that had done 
valiant service in the hands of Northman and 
Hun; spears that had let hi light into many an 
African countenance; bows that had sent forth ar- 
rows of death, and knives well calculated to peel a 
pale-face's crou'H. And Obed said "These are im- 
plements of war for which there will be no use when 
the lion lies down with the lamb, and the bear eats 
straw like an ox." Then as he looked out across 
the " Avenue of the Republic" and saw the mam- 
moth cannons, mortars, turrets and other enginry 
of battle, he thought what a falling off there will be 
in the manufacture of crude metalic ores when all 
these are beaten into '' plow shares and pruning- 
hooks." As lie thought of that " good time coming," 
had he been a singer, Obed would have struck up 

" O, that will be joyful, joyful, 
When men learn war no more." 

As it is, Obed leaves it witli Him who has promised 
it, not doubting but in "the fullness of time" He 
will fuimi. 



—110— 
Pipes. 

Passing from among these implements of carn- 
age, Obed sought the " arts of peace," and stood be- 
fore the German dis|jlay of pipes. Remembering, 
as he looked upon the "Meerschaums," "ambers" 
and "ivories," with their rich mountings and artis- 
tic "stems" that his r//-mf ancestor was a Teuton, he 
almost broke forth, "O mine herf", mine frau, mine 
Got — mine — mine — mineshmokebipe. Run, Shon! 
pring me mine dobacca pox, gwick ! " But Obed 
i-estrained himself; he never "dissipates." Obed 
never dissipated but once. He was a "small boy." 
It was a small cigar. It was a little smoke, but was 
soon followed by as earnest an " Lord, Lord, 
what shall I do ? " as mortal boy ever ])ut up to his 
Maker. He wanted none to see him — no mother to 
hold his head, nor has he had a hankering for the 
weed, since. 

The Pulpit. 

But a little way from the marvelous display of 
pipes, was an object very different in design, and 
of much greater ii.tcrest to Obed and his compan- 
ions. 



-tll- 

"The pulpit, anrl I name it fllled with solemn awe, 
Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand, 
The most important and efficient guard 
Support, and ornament of virtue's cause," 

wrote Cowper his soul all aglow, and believing with 
him in the truth of these sentiments, did Obed ap- 
proach the " Berlin Pulpit." f 
There it stood a thing of most perfect work- 
manship, its five faces richly carved '" with scrip- 
ture stories from the life of Christ," telling of that 
long ago betrothal of the virgin to the jmt carpen- 
ter ; of the "annunciation;" of the visit of Eliza- 
beth ; of the manger " cradle " and the angel 
throng, and of that lone flight to Egypt. As Obed 
looked up, he saw surmounting the whole, delicate- 
ly formed angels, their tiny wings outspread as if 
to bear " good news " from earth to heaven, as in 
that olden time real ones brought "glad tidings" 
down to men. He admired the beautiful piece of 
mechanism, in its great height, its exact propor- 
tions, its ingenious devices. Obed admired, and as 
he did so, he thought of the plain ci)anLry church 
in which he was accustomed to worship, with its 
old-fashioned pulpit, its plain seats, and the throng 
of friends and neighbors who gathered there on the 
return of each peaceful Sabbath ; and then he tried 
to conceive the magnitude of the church that 



—US- 
should be fitted for such a pulpit ; of the richness 
of its furnishings, and the wealth of those who 
should Quter within its " pale." And then he re- 
raembeped that the object before him was for Kinoj- 
1} land^, and his mind runaway to another part of 
the '' Buihlino; "' where he had seen the plain 
" Board " behind which Whitefield stood more than 
a hundred years ago, and />r/brc which, in response 
to his impassioned appeals, multitudes prostrated 
themselves, weef)ing. and inquired, as in a second 
Pentecost, " Men and brethren what shall we do to 
be saved." Obed recognized anew that "God is no 
respector of persons " and calls all, 

" To worship Him, who designs in humbles*; fame, 
On wildest shore, to meet the upright in hearts ;" 

he was renewedly thankful that the poor, as well as 
the rich, "have the gospel preached to them." 
Obe<l was thankful. 

Scenes of the Crucifixion. 

If the "Pulpit" with its rich designs was well 
calculated to waken the devotional element in 
Obed's nature, much more was a view wl'ich soon 
after greeted him in a neighboring court — a court of 
the "Father Land." Turning a sharp angle into 
this court, amid the rich altar furnishings of some 



—113- 

stately cathedrnl, " He of whom Moses and tlie 
Prophets did write," was before him. The hand of 
the artist had, indeed, made tlie inanimate earth 
speak. There, life size, was Jesus: Jesus upon the 
cross, the death agony on his brow, the lips almost 
quivering into " Father forgive them," the blood, 
staining hands, and side, and feet ; Jesus, liis " beg- 
ged " body delivered to his friends, his head resting 
uf)OU his mother's knee, that knee that long ago had 
supported him, a babe in Bethlehem, every linea- 
ment of that.pallid countenance seeming to say, " It 
is finished ; " Jesus in the tomb of the Arimathean, 
those wounds dripping blood, but a face radiant with 
the promise, " I am the resurrection and the life ; " 
" Let not your hearts be troubled." Here Obed stood 
and wondered, wept, and worshipped in the presence 
of a mere human conception of the "Divine Trag- 
edy." Many a time has he conned the words, whilst 
others have given them the gush of song, 

" There is a fountain filled wiLli blood 
Drawn from Inimanael's veins ; 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood, 
Lo;e all their guilty stains," 

but never before had they come to him with such 
" spirit and understanding " as-now. 

Ere he turned away from this touching delinea- 
tion of that greatest of sacrifices which was to come 



-114- 

in the ''fullness of timb," all those touching minis- 
trations which marked the iji/jrimage of the Master; 
that perjured court ; the ascent of Calvary ; the reiid- 
ing of the veil ; the walking forth of the risen dead, 
and the teslimon}' of that unearthly darkness, had 
passed before his mental vision, and he wondered 
whether there is not a hidden power to the "Mother 
Church " in her multiform representations of angels, 
divinities, saints and scenes, presented to her vo- 
taries from rosy childhood to hoary age. Many a 
man has read a piece of statuary or a painting who 
could not peruse a printed page. "See tliou make 
all things according to the pattern shewed thee in 
tlie Mount," is an old injunction, but its spirit is not 
yet dead. 

Educational Interost. 

Turnlno; from the figures which had so interest- 
cd him, Obed bethought him of the special request 
of a friend, who had already witnessed it, that he 
should be sure and visit the Japanese Educational 
exhibit. Now said friend looks at everything with 
an eye to the "recompense of reward," and his visit 
to the above named Educational Department had 
"dried up the fountains " of liis benevolence so far 



—115— 

as missionar}^ subscriptions are concerned ; — he will 
give no more to carry the gcspel to the crown- 
shaved, Uifted Japs, or to cc^nvert the " pig-tailed 
Celestials." "A new phase to an old idea," mused 
Obed ; "twenty-five cents saved to the credit side of 
your profit and loss account in the second century 
of the republic, old boy, and a dead loss of a quarter 
to the "American Board." 

Reaching the court where the Japan school ap- 
pliances were outspread. Obed did not so much won- 
der at his friend's anti-mi'^sionary spirit. There 
were numeral frames, writing charts, drawing cards, 
cubes, cones, and quadrilaterals ; botanical speci- 
mens, birds, insects, quadrupeds, and le.'ssons from 
stones and minerals; air-pumps, electrical machines, 
mechanical powers, and optical instruments; mor- 
tars, retorts, crucibles, gasometers and other requis- 
ites for the laboratory ; in short every appliance i'rom 
" kindergarten " incentives up to university demon- 
strations. On all these Obed looked, — looked with 
interest, for although they were truly educational, 
they were pre-eminently Oriental; very unlike the 
manufactures of Wight man and Chamberlain. 

Musing on the schools of the land of 8iogun 
and the Mikado; of their juvenile classes ; of their 
girls pressing the newly gathered flowers, the boys 



—116- 

classifying the results of their geological surveys, 
and all uniting in the rhetorical exercises of (Jon:i- 
position Day, Obed wondered if they still indulge 
in the "heathenish practice of having the teachers 
board 'round," and presuming from the merry 
twinkling of the oblique eyes about him they do, he 
said, "I will not follow the example of my friend, 
and cut off my missionary support." 

A- move of a few paces and Obed was at home — 
was in the Educational Department of the Buckeye 
State. The fathers had not failed to labor that Ohio 
might be well represented, and if figures and 
facts would do it, it was done. But the world did 
not go to the Centennial to study figures and facts 
on paper. The world went to see, and so did Obed. 
Feeling thus he passed quickly into "Indiana," and 
his state pride was humbled in presence of what the 
Hoosiers had done. Facts and figures they had not 
omitted, but beyond these they had brought school 
methods, implements, and models. Therj in miniar 
ture were some of their finest school buildings of to- 
day, and over against them one of the long ago — a 
" School House of 1827." On this Obed looked, and 
his boyhood rose up before him. Again he thread- 
ed his weary way through the woods to the old log 
school house at the " four corners " and sat upon a 



—1 17— 

slab scat on the old puncheon floor; again, his back 
to tlie teacher, he laid his "Elementary" on the 
desk, a slab supported on pins driven into the wall, 
and ate pop corn with a relish known only to boys 
intent .on study; again he" toed the mark" and 
ppelled "baker," and read, those vivid thoughts, 
" Wood and coal will make a hot fire," and " I had 
some green corn in July on a plate;" and those 
thrilling tales of the " Old man who found the rude 
boy stealing apples and desired him to come down," 
but boy-like, the 3'oungster " would not; " the maid 
who counted her chickens so prehiaturely, and the 
lawyer's bull which gored the farmer's ox; again, 
he saw the Obed ox-team bringing up the family 
portion of wood which he must needs chop for re- 
cess and nooning pastimes; again he ate his dinner 
of slapjacks and sausages and slid down hill on a 
board until that part of his jeans most liable to 
" wear and tear" became sadly demoralized, only to 
appear to him next morning under a change of 
colors; again he was in at the "barring out" and 
enjoyed alike the master's discomfort, and the ap- 
ples and cider furnished as a holida}^ consideration 
foropeningthedoor ; all theseand many other remem- 
brances of school boy life in the back woods flitted 
through his mind, as he stood there in presence of 



—118— 

that life-like picture of the pnst. He saw himself 
the owner of a "Kirkham" and the inheritor of a 
"DaboU" and slate which had done service with 
the older members of the family; he ciphered to the 
Rule of Three; he was admitted to practice before the 
Board of Examiners, and then went boarding round;'' 
he slept in the loft; slept in the "spare bed;" slept 
with the head of the family; slopt with the child- 
ren ; he heard the children say, " Master, mother 
wants you to come next week," and " Mother dt)n't 
want you to come 'til after butchering." 

Thus in the presence of those model buildings 
did Obed review much of his school life, and as he 
thought of the then and the noiv of it, he said, " Pro- 
gress in education, — progress in Japan, Ohio and 
Indiana, progress everywhere," 

Turning to leave the Indiana display, Obed's 
eye caught an object of interest before unobserved. 
This was a fine photographic grouping of a '^ IJoosier 
Family " — a father, motiier, and ten bright eyed lads 
and lasses, all school goers ; the father and mother 
as visitors, the children as pupils in various stages 
of advancement. Upon inquiry of the attendant, 
Obed learned that Samuel Jones is an honest 
mechanic of the city of Indianapolis; an efficient 
member of the School Board, and an earnest advo- 



-119- 

cate of the Public School S^'stern of the State. So 
conspicuous indeed, have he and his family become, 
that the proprietors of the educational exhibit con- 
ceived the happy thought of presenting him and 
his as a part of the same, that not only the State 
but the World might see one of its benefactors ; 
and Obed passed on, hoping that the Jones family 
may increase and multiply until it shall become 
more numerous than the family of SmitJi even, and 
that there may never be found one among its mem- 
bers advocating the single heir doctrine now becom- 
ing so destructive of real American influence, but 
that they may continue to fulfill the great law of 
labor and love in all things. Obed trusts they 
may. 

Medicines. 

Down upon the first floor again, Obed gave his 
attention to the department of medicines and 
chemicals for a time. This was glorious. To Obed 
this was glorious. The man who cares most for his 
kind — the man who in the language of the immor- 
tal "ike "has "ascended into the deep arcana of 
nature " — the man who has expended Ibrtunes in 
traveling researches, has exposed life and health 



— 120- 

beneath tropic suns and amid polar frosts, that he 
might bring comfort to the afflicted and "with his 
loved presence," healing to all the ailmenls of 
humanit}^ — yes, the patent medicine man was there, 
and Obed gazed long and wistfully on his wares. 
How could he do otherwise? He could not with- 
out the basest ingratitude. There* were "elixirs," 
and " tonics," and " vermifuges," " pectorals," and 
" expect-youraioit.s,^' warranted to cure "a thousand 
and one" diseases each. Many of them have al- 
ready relieved nine hundred and ninety-nine cases 
of simple dcbilitij in its most chronic forms. There 
were "restoratives" for bald crowiis; "dyes" for 
locks prematurely gray ; "dentrifices" for the teeth ; 
"balms" for the breath; "extracts" for pestering 
freckles, and rogues (rouges) for maiden cheeks. 
On all these Obed looked, and as he did so his 
memory was busy. He thought of all the fading 
grandmothers, nervous wives, and shattered hus- 
bands, and frail Itumans of other classes that ever he 
had seen ; he thought of his own cup-bonrd and 
of the bushel or two of empty bottles that might 
there be gathered up, and of the streams of Cod 
Liver Oil and 'appetizers " he had swallowed, and 
as his eye rested on gilted and glittering " Ayers," 
"Janes," "Halls," " Hooflands," and "Humbugs," 



—121— 



bis wish was that all their patrons might live to 
stand in presence of their show cases at the next 
Centennial. This only could Obed wish. 



Chemicals. 

Satisfied with gazing at "bitters" aiid "pills," 
Obed began an inspection of other products of the 
laboratory. Plere on the one hand was a mass of 
alum, cubical in form, clear as crystal, and weigh- 
ing only three tons. Alum enough, thought Obed, 
to pucker the mouths of the boys of all Yankee 
Land for the next hundred years. A little way from 
this was a fine cylindrical mass clear as the other, 
and weighing five tons. Another one of still dif- 
ferent form, beautiful in its crystline arrangement, 
weighed seven tons, whilst a fourth in the form of a 
large parallelopiped, and weighing nine tons, was 
traversed throughout its whole length by a " Mam- 
moth Cave " artistically decorated with stalactites 
and stalagmites, revealing crystals of most perfect 
form. In presence of these an astirgent sensation 
was fast stealing over the mind of Obed, and it was 
with difficulty that he tried to imagine himself a 
boy again ; sucking alum, nibbling his mother's 



—122— 

bees-wax and eating "choke-cherries" — choice de- 
lights of juvenile years — of Obed's juvenile years. 

Whether he would have shriveled entirely up, 
Obed will not pretend to say, for just then a friend 
said, "0 see there!" And he looked and beheld a 
great pyramid of indigo — indigo sufficient to furnish 
"rainbow tint" for a tliousand years. Obed never 
looks upon indigo but it wakens fragrant memories, 
and how could it be otherwise there in presence of 
so muc'li Uhief I could not. To Obed it could not. 
Again he saw the old time home with its broad 
cheerful "fire-place;" again the rolls, white, fleecy 
rolls, were spun; again the skeins were "knotted;" 
again the great earthen jar was brought out and set 
"in its ace istomed place;' again there sounded 
through the house " notes of preparation," and for 
long weeks, manipulated by the mother's hand, the 
" savory odors " of the " dye tub " rose fresher than 
the " balm of a thousand flowers," precursors they 
of sky-blue mits for misses hands, and '"clouded" 
socks for boyish feet. No mothers now with coloreil 
hands. D\ing, they lived ; living, the^^ dyed, but 
science has despoiled their daughters of those annual 
rounds our mothers so well knew. "My lads, now 
mind your p's," no longer enters the list of house- 
hold words, though many a stalwart naan remem- 



—123— 

bers them, as delicate " requisitions " from matron- 
ly lips. And Obed said, "How wonderful the 
change since I was a boy." 

Sundries, 

Many and curious were the " ides " and " ites," 
the "ates" and "phates" and other compounds, 
some liquids, others solids, upon which Obed look- 
ed. Had one-half the list been presented to his 
grandmother, the good old lady would have shaken 
her head and quoted Solomon on " many inventions." 
She carried the progenitor of Obed, with his eleven 
brothers and sisters, safely through the whooping 
cough, the "canker-rash," the measles, the itch and 
the other diseases incident to Connecticut childhood 
with a few simple remedies, as blue mass, lobelia, 
catnip, sulphur and molasses, " nanny tea," and " oil- 
of-spank." These would now avail little in the 
" ager " district of the West. But Obed does not stop 
to particularize. A great mass of "Extract of Ijog- 
wood"*over against a fine display (>f "Arnold';; 
Writing Fluid," wakened memories of " lang snmic," 
of the times he took basket aud axe and gathered 
oak bark and alder from the forest to mi.K with lug- 
wood chips, that the homespun might assume a 



—124— 

cinnamon tinge or a sable hue, as a good mother 
willed. Then, the dying done, Obed prepared liis 
school-boy's supply of ink. It was not proof against 
-the attacks of Jack Frost, 'tis true, but then it was 
the best he had, the best he could get, and — Obed 
had wandered to the front of a magnificent display 
of Aikin, Lambert & Go's Gold Pens, and as he gazed 
upon the broad "commercial" the stately "Con- 
gress " the pliable " corresponding" and the delicate 
"Lady's," in his imagination, he again dipped the 
honored "goose-quili" of long ago in the vial of 
domestic manufacture, hanging on the wall; with 
boyish care he made his " pot hooks " and " tram- 
mels," little dreaming what ihey had to do. with 
forming letters, and many times caring less ; again 
he saw the " Jolly old Pedagogue," and the peda- 
gogue that was not so jolly, his hair and ears loaded 
with un wrought quills and half-used pens; again he 
heard those oft repeated cries " Teacher, mend my 
pen ;" " Master, this pen splatters;" " School ma'ain, 
this pen makes too broad a mark." These were 
pleasant reflections. To 01)ed they were peasant, 
and might have continued long had not some one 
just then said " My gracious," and looking up he 
saw on the one hand a rich display of "Joseph's" 
" Best Steel Pens," and on the other agoi'geous case 



—125- 

of " A. W. Faber's celebrated pencils." " Not much 
like the 'plummet' of the long ago" said Obed to 
himself, as he remembered the long strip of lead 
that served alike for ruling his paper, or sinking his 
line in the fishing time. As Obed turned to leave 
those standard pens and pencils, he wondered if 
Gillott and Faber would be at the next Centennial, 
or if the manufacture of their wares is as conducive 
to health as the spinning of thread to the "Coates " 
family or the compounding of cologne to the tribe 
of " Johannes Johannessen," of whom several hun- 
dred genuine "originals" still reside in the city of 
" many smells." Obed wondered, and wandered on. 

Knives and Forks. 

A pencil is worth little without a knife, and 
this was to be bad at the Centennial. Obed saw 
knives — knives from the tiny " single blade " with 
which a lady may clean her nails, to the murderous 
" Bow II'," with which " chivalry " was wontloavenge 
itself, and the reeking '■ scal[»or," used by the noble 
red m:'.n in adorning the walls of his lodge with 
ornaments chipped irom the crowns of our fathers, 
a fine art not entirely uncultivaled on our western 
frontiers to this day. Obed §aw knives from the 



—126— 

shops of America and England, from Germany and 
Brazil, from Mexico and all the Orient ; knives 
with pearl handles, and handles of ebony and ivory, 
all inlaid and beautified with silver, and gold, and 
precious stones ; with blades, saws, files, forceps, 
forks, spoons, gimlets, cork-screws, screw-drivers, 
wrenches, hammers, chisels and boot-jacks, and a 
tacit assurance that by the next Centennial there 
will be added a chamber set, a dining room and 
kitchen, a cook stove, a horse and buggy, one cow, 
a small vegetable garden, and a chbck for groceries, 
with coupons attached. On all these Obed looked, 
and as he did so, he wondered if the Yankee ele- 
ment is not to be found in the soul of all boys, 
whether amid the bogs of Ireland, the higher 
culture of the Fatherland, or developing the infantile 
cue of a Ching-Chang, or reverently bowing, a ten- 
year-old follower of the Prophet. Obed wondered, 
and as he did so, he remembered the long ago, when 
he became the sole owner of a six-and a-fourth-cent 
"dog knife," a genuine animal, with "pot metal" 
body, legs set for running, a well-formed head, the 
sj)ring protruding as a stump tail, and blade for 
tongue. That knife was a treasure over which Obed 
gloated with pride, and which gained him the 
enmity of many a boy less fortunate. Then came 



—127— 

the glory that the ownership of a real " Barlow," 
brought with it, and Gbed said " Alas, poor Bar- 
low ! he lives only in the memory of men growing 
gray ; no one has brought Jiis knife to the exposition." 
Thus Obed said and passed to the inspection of 
knives and forks. Of these he found not a few, 
coming from many lands. And Obed said, "Most 
people now use knives and forks, but it was not al- 
ways so ; and still, Ah Sin and his Orient cousins 
adhere to the usageof their fathers; Ah Sin and his 
cousins do." 

There were knives and forks with bone and 
wooden handles, with handles of horn and ivory ; 
knives and forks with blades and tines of burnished 
steel, and tripple plated with silver ; there were 
"teas," and "dinners," and "carvers." On all 
these the world had done her best, but as he stood 
in the presence of the "Beaver Falls" exhibit, Obed 
said "Columbia leads the van in these." Es- 
pecially did he admire that giant carving knife of 
seven foot blade, and ivory handle, and rich letter- 
ing, and perfect polish, and gorgeous mountings, 
and its companion fork ; and he pictured to him- 
self the man who could handle such implements. 
Then there arose before his imagination a gobbler 
"worthy of its steel," and a great thanksgiving 



—128— 

table was spread ; the knives were like broad 
swords, the plates four feet across, the soup tu- 
reens held half a barrel, the coffee cups, two gallons 
each; they brouglit in potatoes and turnips by the 
bushel; the slices of bread were six feet long ; the 
apple pies ten inches deep; pumpkin pies and 
everything else were in proportion ; and when all 
was ready a race of giants came in and sat down. 
A couimensurate grace was said, when the master 
of ceremonies arose to carve, and Obed looked 
up, and up, and — "What are you thinking about 
now?" said a sharp voice — the massive walls 
and lofty columns vanished, — all was gone, — and 
Obed demurely followed Mrs. Obcd and her friend, 
revolving in his mind how Solomon and the favorite 
Mrs. S. managed when they gave the first dinner 
party in the new palace royal, their table 'spread 
with dishes of gold, and not a fork to -use; how 
Cffisar and his friends must have looked at the im- 
perial table, dipping their soj> and tearing their 
meat with their fingers, and how Miles Standish 
supported, at the table on the Mayflower, 

"The laudable use of foi'ks, 
Brought into custom there as they were in Italy, 
To the sparing of napkins." 

Thus musing, Obed realized that there are few 
things that more betoken progress than a simple 



—129— 

fork ; at first a stick, two uncouth iron prongs, two 
— three — four well-phxted tines, and one of these 
a blade, with wliich a peasant girl a grace displays 
that queens might once have envied. And he was 
glad, glad he had interviewed Birmingham and 
Beaver Falls. Obed was glad. 

Pottery. 

Nothing more natural than that knives and 
forks sliould suggest di-hes to the Obeds, and so it 
was. In a German court they surveyed the " Royal 
Pottery" of Berlin, in all its polish and beauty. 
There were plates, and vase^, and flagons, and beak- 
ers, and coolers all of the choicest wares and richest 
patterns, embellished from the paintings of Raphael, 
Afurillo and others of the masters, and spreading 
out before the beholder many a royal palace, feudal 
castle and rich landscape of the Fatherland. On all 
these Obcd might freely gaze, but nothing more, for 
they were for palace tables and imperial halls. Obed 
perceived they were for sale — for sale at prices 
ranging all the way from S500 to -fj/J'lO per set, or 
single articles. And Obed said, " it was not always 
thus in the land of Germania. Once Anglo Saxon, 
fiery llun, and warlike tribes long since extinct, 



—ISO- 
ranged her interminable forests; and kings, and 
dames of noble birth, and their retainers all, ate their 
meat from wooden trenchers or from iron pots, and 
drank their wine from flagons rude." All this Obed 
said and there rose up before him visions of pewter 
platters, blue edged plates, and sets of figured blue; 
and with dishes such as these he knew many a 
cheery housewife had been. happy as a queen, and 
had sighed for nothing better. Stepping just around 
a screen he stood in presence of gray stone beer 
mugs and pitchers, imitating in their forms and 
their blue trimmings old German wares. Their 
forms were quaint and figures curious, and here are 
specimens of the homely rhymes rudely inscribed 
on some of them : 

" From sour beer and a scolding wife 
May heavea protect thee all thy life." 

to which Obed fully subscribes. Again 

"To none will fate true pleasure bring,' 
Who does not love, and drink, and sing." 

With the orthodoxy of this latter he is not satisfied. 
But Germany was not alone in specimens of the 
ceramic art. China and Japan were there in orien- 
tal display. Semi-barbaric as they are, Christendom 
has produced no such porcelain as our oblique-eyed 



—131— 

cousins of the house of Shem brought to compare 
with that of the enlightened sons of Japheth and the 
sable descendants of Ham. There were dishes 
superlatively fine, with designs and colorings 
characteristic of the East; and vases — vases urn 
shaped, and shaped every way ; vases standing on 
their own bottoms and vases standing on bottoms of 
birds and beasts ; vases covered with Eastern scenery 
and Mongolian devices; vases high and vases low, 
— as low as $5,000 ; vases whose capacity would he 
measured by the barrel. On all these Obed looked 
in wonder and astonishment, but most on the vases. 
He looked on these, and as' he did so, remembering 
the ' Portlands " that stand on his own mantle, and 
Mrs. Obed's dahlias and roses, pinks and posiVs, 
wondered of the flowers of the Orient ; of sepals and 
petals, broad and out-spreading ; of their pistils like 
walking sticks ; of the size of a boquet proportioned 
to one of the vases, and of the amount of aroma tliat 
would float out from it ; of the dimensions of a parlor 
suited for such a display, and wiiat a nice thing a 
brace of them, placed upon a piiljjit, would bo fir an 
embarrassed minister to hide bdiind. On all tlieso 
things and many more, Obed was musing, wlieu 
" Chin-chan-chang-che-whang-likee " fell upon liis 
ear. Mrs. Obed and her friend laughed. "John" 



—132— 

looked at Obed ; Obed looked at " John," then they 
bowed, and the Obeds passed on. 

Then came a survey of pottery from England, 
bearing unmistakable evidence of John Bull ; pot- ■ 
tery bearing the impress of the Russian bear; pot- 
tery from Spain, tasty and cheap — a nice water 
cooler for 25 cts ; pottery from Turkey and Egypt, 
including nice bottles of goats skin of just the pat- 
tern the Miss Jethros were carrying when Moses, 
old bachelor as he was, played the gallant, thirty- 
four hundred years ago; — the same thcitllagar car- ' 
ried out into the desert long years before, when 
Abraham kindly dismissed her on account of the 
" late unpleasantness " between herself and Mrs. 
Abraham. As Obed looked he said, " How many 
things the Father has left to connect the present 
with the j)ast, and to substantiate the truth of His 
word!" Thus musing Obed passed into a Peruvian 
court, where he saw pottery which, if not so rich, 
was rarer than all. Three thousand years ago the 
potter placed his clay upon the wiieel, and here in 
the Centennial was the result; vessels shaped like 
three legged men with tlie dropsy ; like stuttering 
boy with new cap, sh')rt shirt, and barefooted; like 
limbless ladies with their jaws bound up ; like 
quadrupeds that walk, and reptiles that crawl ; like 



—133- 

iiihabitants of air and sea ; vessels all covered with 
curious symbols which when read will reveal the 
history of the strange people who formed them, and 
builded the great mounds in which they have been 
preserved for hoary centuries. Not only upon this 
potter}^ did Obed feast his eyes, but upon the potters 
themselves. Yes, old Mr. and Mrs. Incus and a 
number of the Junior Incases were at the Centen- 
nial. For three thousand years had they patiently 
waited for an opportunity to visit Yankee Land. 
Marvelous patience beside which that of the man of 
Uz fades away ! But now their desire was gratified. 
Though they were a little dry and somewhat bony in 
appearance, the people came and paid their respects 
to them, but Darwin failed to draw out the secret of 
their origin. To Mrs. Obed and her friend, these 
distant relatives were obj^^cts of special interest and 
the}^ often speak of them, and Obed remembers them 
in his dreams 

Dolls. 

A woman of sense always takes to anything in 
the form of child! lood as natural !}'• as a duck does 
to watei". hence Obed was not at all surprised when 
he found Mrs. 0. and her friend standine; in front 



—134— 

of the exhibit oi artifciul innocency, and enthusias- 
tically discussing the rare beauty of both form and 
finish. By way of interlude, just to give them 
breath, Obed was remarking that so far at least as 
docility is concerned, art had made an improvement 
on nature, when a fine old. lady who stood by, ob- 
serving the rolling of the eyes of one in the hands 
of an exldbitor exclaimed, " La me, sir, they are 
almost as natural as if they were home-made," to 
which Obed could but reply, " Very natural, indeed, 
mam," and hurried off to inspect a " Chinese Bed- 
stead," marked "$4,500." It was said to have been 
carved out with a knife, and bore representations of 
everything hideous in heaven, earth, and sea, and 
as he gazed upon it Obed remarked to himself, " If 
there is anything better calculated than a mince 
pie and a quart of hard cider, to give a man the 
night mare, it would be to sleep upon that bedstead. 
It was fit only for " Celestial " climes. 

Norwegian Figures. 

" Life is real, life is earnest," 

sang Longfellow years before Centennial Exposi- 
tions were thought of, and his words came flitting 
through the mind of Obed as he entered the " Nor- 
wegian Court ; " for there he saw what no other 



— 13S— 

nation thought to put on exhibition — the varied 
phases, of real life among the great mass of the 
people. 

Here in a little corner, upon mimic snow, was 
placed a sledge with reindeer attached, and pater 
fami/ias, well wrapped in woolens and furs, seated 
for the long drive, 

" Over frosty Lapland dreary," 

whilst his better half stood by handing his lighted 
pipe, the pedal extremities of a "Baby mine " pro- 
truding from beneath the left arm. She looked the 
ver}'- picture of womaidy meekness, and wife-like 
obedience. To Obed the ])icture was one of rare 
interest, and his feelings took to themselves wings 
of pros}', and audibly arose in these words, 

"Happy the man whose fortunes share 
A woman of such tender care. " 

Turning to see wdiat the impression w.is upon the 
ladies, Mrs. Obed curtly replied, " I'd like to see 
myself lighting a [)ipe or carrying a young one for 
any man living." To this her friend nodded assent, 
and Obed responded, '" So would I." 

Just acro:s the aisle was another group. It was 
the old, old story — an empty cradle; a filled coffin, 
plain and simple; a young mother bowing under 
this her first great affliction, whilst the holy man of 



—136- 

God, book in hand, stood by administering words 
of consolation. As Obed looked, tears of grati- 
tude welled up in his eyes, that the great Father 
had left his own band of loved ones all unbroken. 

Just over the railing, at a little cross legged 
table, sat an old father and mother, crowned with 
the glory of years, he reading the " Book," outsj)read 
before him; she busily plying the needles that knit- 
ted socks for little feet of other homes, as in the long 
ago they had for the heads of those homes, then 
prattlers upon the hearthstone wliero now but two 
again sat down. 

It were almost needless to refer to the old 
"Tinker" intently working over a worm eaten time 
piece, whilst his " hale old wife " pours some quest- 
ion of interest into his ear, closely observed by the 
damsel in plain homespun, aud by the bashful 
swain, looking as though life or death, to him, de- 
pended upon the coloquy going on at the table. It 
was only a repetition of what has transpired thous- 
ands of times in well i*egulated families — the refer- 
ence of a " popped question " from the hanger on 
at the gate to the " powers that be " — a mere matter 
of form, good for nothing unless |ja'pa comes down 
with a pleasant affirmation and a commcnsura'opilf^ 
of dust. 



-137- 
Pltimes. 

Away down in the south-western corner of tho 
buihlino; was a small court of South African ex- 
liibits attracting- but little attention, and yet it con- 
tained bugs and beetles and birds of rare beauty, as 
well as grains, and animals that had passed through 
the hands of the taxidermist; but the most pleasing 
tiling to Obed was a nest of ostrich eggs, from the 
center of which waved a pbtmc of several feathers of 
gigantic proportions. As he stood contemplating 
these and the natural history of their parentage, re- 
membering that Uncle Sam pays only $10,000,000 
annually for this single product to please the fancy 
of his fair daughters, he exclaimed, "Cheap enough ' 
for the transfer of so much beauty from tho tail of 
one bird to the head of another." 

Machinery Hall. 

Five hundred feet away from the Main Build- 
ing stood Machinery Hall. Of its wonders none 
can tell. Its wealth of devices in wood and stone, in 
iron and brass, in copper and bronze; in science and 
art, in literature and aesthetics; for peace and war, 
for air and earth, and under the earth ; for making 
toys and constructing locomotives, was an over- 



—138— 

wbelmingly eloquent sermon on, " But man has 
so "ig-lit out many inventions." To but one of its 
lessons can Obed refer, the most impressive of them 
all, the climax of the Exposition, the 

" Corliss Engine." 

Before this be stood in wonder and astonish- 
ment; around it again and a,<;ain be walked ad- 
miringf the symmetry of its proportions, tlie com- 
pleteness of its workmanship, and the perfect 
unifurmity of its motion, sustaining and vivifying 
the mechanical irorhl around. Then bis mind ran 
back to the opening day of the Exposition. The 
oration had been pronounced, the venerable Whit- 
tier had read his sim})le "Song of a Hundred 
Years," the Orchestra had thundered forth its grand 
Anthem, General Grant had delivered his character- 
istic speech, "I now declare the Exposition open," 
when tbe grand procession, headed by the President 
nnd the Empress of Brazil, followed immediately by 
Dom Pedro and Mrs. Grant, and made up of the 
wealth, refinement and enterpris^^ of many lands, 
began its triumphal march amid the gorgeous dis- 
play of the Main Building. The Hall reached, all 
was silent and motionless as the 2;rave. The saw- 



—139 — 

3'er stood at his buzz ; the weaver stood by liis loom 
and the spinner at her " Jenny ; " the " Editor sat 
in his sanctum ; " the pressman stood at his form, 
and the devil, ink pot in hand; — ail over the vast 
building every artisan was, statue-like, in his place. 
On the procession moved amid the universal quie- 
tudp until the Engine was reached. Then a plain 
unpretending man, stepping down, as'sisted the Em- 
i^^ress and Mrs. Grant to a place on the platform and 
stationed their husbands at the re-^pective valves of 
the Engine. When all was ready, turning to tlie 
Emperor, he said, " Your highness will please turn 
that crank," and immediately the ponderous beam 
above began to move, then turning to the President, 
"Your Excellency will please turn tiiat crank," and 
no sooner had he who had commanded from Don- 
aldson to Appomatto.x:, obeyed, than thirteen miles 
of shafting was in harmonious motion, and fourteen 
ar;re.s of operatives were busy at their respective avo- 
cations. Never was there a grander sight, or a more 
impressive lesson than wlien, in presence of the 
educated, the honored, the elite of two hemispheres, 
dignity, heroism and royally, did the liidding of a 
simple American mechanic. Never since the 
Master said, " My Father worketh hilher'to, and I 
work," has labor been so dignified as wlien Emperor 



— 140— 

and President did tlie bidding of Geo. H. Corliss 
npon the platform of the Titan of the Exhibition. 

State Buildings. 

If there is any advantage in advertising, Kan- 
sas has had it from the days of the " Omnibus 
Bill," down to the time of the "Exodus," in her 
"bleeding," her " Ossawattomie," whose 

"Soul Roes marching on,"' 

in her grasshoppers, her tornadoes, her land 
sciiemes; but nowhere better than in her Centen- 
nial exhibit, a very exposition in itself. 

Joining with her sister of " bug " notoriety, 
they placed upon the grounds a building suited to 
a display of their air, soil, water, and mines ; and 
this display they made to the satisfaction of every- 
body, particularly themselves. Entering the build- 
ing, the first thing that attracted attention was "In- 
dependence Bell," constructed irom Kansas grain 
by Kansas fingers, its gourd clapper of such dimen- 
sions as would have made Jonah's eyes water could 
he have seen it when his own vine withered away; 
then came corn stalks well calculated for "Liberty 
poles," and these were loaded with " ears " any one 
of which would have afforded an amj)le meal of 
" succotash " for an old time family. The wheats, 



_141 — 

oats, barleys, grapes, fruits, and timbers, were simp- 
ly enormous, and as the Commissioner expatiated 
on the rapidity of their growth, Obed thought how 
useless a time-piece in such a land, where the flight 
of the hours might be marked b}' the inches of 
vegetable growth. 

At the left of the main entrance was the Color- 
ado display. Here were ores of the precious metals, 
and metals not so precious; coals, and building 
stones, but most imposing of all, the motar/crie of 
Mrs. Maxwell, " Huntress of the West," the most 
artistically arranged collection of animals, birds 
and reptiles upon the grounds; so life-Wke, indeed, 
as almost to make one imagine himself amou": the 
living realities in the fastness of their mountain 
homes. 

Passing along " State Avenue," Obed could but 
bestow a passing glance upon the buildings of the 
different States. l-[ere was the unique house built 
by the "Canucks," speaking volumes for Canada's 
I'ich resources in luinl)er and timber. A little far- 
ther along wns the more imposing building of Cali- 
fornia, displaying her beautiful myrtles and other 
lumber and rich products, to fine advantage ; and 
then came the mystic " Mis-^issippi Home," with the 
long niosscs suspended from its eaves. 



—142— 

The Connecticut building wns the home of 
Obed's cousins. Ashe passed across the yard lie 
refreshed himself with a draught from 

"The old oaken bucket, the iron iDouud bucket, 
Tlie moss covered bucket that hnng in the well." 

Euteiing he was permitted to regale himself upon 
the savory odors of a wooden ham seasoned willi 
nutmeg made from a bough of the " Charter Oak," 
slowly cooking over a tire ignited from a spark 
struck from a horn Mint. 

Some state buildin'js were more im{)osing, oth- 
ers more unique, but none were so gratifying to the. 
eye of Ohed*is that of Ohio. Passing through the 
office and general.lounge roont, he fi:ially drew up 
in the "Parlor." Here he saw the veritable apron 
which the great Father of his country used to wear 
after he was permitted to see " more light," and to go 
in and out with the "craft" from "labor"' to "re- 
freshment." The great (juestion wassett'ed. Truth- 
ful (ieorge did ste}) within the " Mystic Brother- 
hood," and however it may be with tiiose who " ride 
the goat" in these degenerate days, certain it is that 
AVashington always met upon the " level," and 
parted upon the "square." 

Without any dispara;::ment to either " Empire" 
or "Keystone" there was an honest nride in the 



-143- 

heart of Obed as he contemplated the " Buckeye " 
buildhig, showino^ a=! it did the varied building re- 
sources of his native state ; and remembering her 
rich agricultural and other products he penciled in 
his memorandum, 

" From her lake that bears bold Indian name 
Away to the " Beautiful " river, 
There is naught of the earth, and naught of the air, 
But praises the Bountiful Giver. 

In her forests are choicest ribbings of oak. 

Her streams furnish glorious fishing ; 
Then her highlands yield wheat, her lowlands give corn, 

By our only properly wishing. 

She has iron in store, and coal even more. 
And the lime that's used in the " pigging ; "' 

Not a man in all her borders need want. 
If he's only the "grit" to "keep digging." 

As her fathers are men of a right worthy sorb, 
So their wives are with gooriness a-brimming ; 

And her boys, full of true American blood, 
Have fair sisters not given to " trimming." 

Of our dear Uncle Sam she's beconiing the pet, 
And of " Presidents," bids to be "Mother : " 

Yet she bears her rich laurels in manner so meek. 
As not e'en to offend any other." 

United. States Department. 

The General Government did not forget to put 
itself on record in a special buiMing where Uncle 



—144— 

Sam might exliibit himself. This he did, in part 
by marching out his sohliers and marines of every 
period of the Republic, and Obed went on a tour 
of '"inspection." lie found Jark Tar and his lineal 
descendants, from the days of Paul Jones to tbe 
noble boys who made up the Castor-Oil Fleet, ready 
to tip the tarpaulin or strike for 

" A home on the rolling deep," 

as duty might require. Troopers and infantry, 
sharp shooters and artillery men, had alike reported 
for duty ; old Revolutionary, patriot of 1812, hero 
of Mexico, and boy in blue, artificially done, all 
were there. Old musket, flint-lock riHe, and 
"Springfield;" horse pistol" and seven shooter; 
twelve pounder, mortar, " Paxhan " and " Needle 
Gun," all said " Here we are ; take us." 

The war [)ower of the country, past and pres- 
ent, was only a tythe of the features of interest. 
Many things brought from the Departments at 
Washington were on exhibition. Many relics of 
the Revolution were to be seen; among them sev- 
eral brass and other cannons presented to the coun- 
try l)y La Fayette. These pounders of the olden 
time contrasted strangely with the modern field 
pieces around them, and when he remembered the 
service they did the country, as did also the gallant 



—145— 

young Frenchman, at whose command they uttered 
their voice of thunder in favor of American liberty, 
the feelings of Obed became almost reverential, and 
he pities the man who did not give wa}^ to his feel- 
ings in presence of these, of the old " First Flag," 
the chair of " Old Hickory " and the " camp chest " 
of Washington. 

The Woman's Pavilion. 

This building was the conception and property 
of ladies. Here the women of the country made a 
fine display of their genius, and daily exhibited their 
mechanical and manufacturing skill. Sewing ma- 
chines, knitters, looms for laces and other fine 
fabrics, were to be seen in great abundance, many 
of them in active operation. Here were many 
articles of goods such as ladies are specially interest- 
ed in, and with most bewitching smiles, the fair 
venders importuned Obed to buy, and how could he 
resist, for the ladies had already liberally patronized 
"Ah Sin" and "Abdel Sheik f" 

When they had gazed their fill on veils, laces, 
shawls, ribbons, embroideries, bonnets, dolls, robes, 
and other products of female handicraft, and had 
patronized a red hot candy stand, Obed called a po- 



—146— 

liceman to show them tbe"Whist]e." Thislittleobject, 
a marvel in its line, was the work of a New England 
lass, who cruelly withheld her person/and even her 
name from the interview'mq world, and Obed, so far 
as he knows, was the only one so fortunate as to 
obtain a photograph of the fair artist. This lady 




had taken all the poetry out of a time-honored ad- 
age, by actually wringing n pig's tail without des- 
troying the curl, and giving, as the result of her 



—147— 

ingonait}^ a veritable whistle, to which was append- 
ed this Byronic verse : 

" There's a proverb wide known, 

As Scotland's famed tliistle, 
That out of a pigs's tail, you 

Can't make a whistle ; 
We believe we've accomplished 

That wonderful thing. 
And those who do wish to 

May make this tail sing," 

and Obcd tried it to 

"The girl I left behind me," 

with admirable success. 

In the New England Kitchen. 

Obed had heard of the " New England Kitch- 
en," and as raa}^ very well be supposed, was desir- 
ous of seeing for himself how his ancestors formerly, 
and his, lo him, unseen cousins, still live, so in his 
early rambles about the grounds he took in the 
"Kitchen," of course. It was just ns he had 
expected. The double log-frame house with its 
chimneys set without and the broad open iire place 
within; the little yard in front with its posies such 
as our mothers loved before the days of hot houses 



—148- 



and importations of flowers, the morning glory, the 
'stertion, the touch-me-not, and the holly hock, with 
here and there a plant of more useful kind, as a beet 
or a cabbage. To Obed, with his old time notions, 
these things were pleasant, and as he saw placed in 
great letters above the doorway " Welcome to all," 
he entered, and as he had done a thousand times 
in the days of his boyhood in his Western home, 
seated himself on the rustic seat under the " stoop " 
for grateful rest. 

For a time the mind of Obed was busy with the 
memories of other days — of days long gone when he 
gathered in the cool of the summer evening with 
father and m.other, brothers and sisters with whom 
he will gather about the doorway no more in the 
evening time, but with whom he hopes to meet about 
*'the great wliite throne," and listen to stories of 
New England times and customs, and of a six week's 
journey through an almost pathless wilderness to 
" New Connecticut." Of such things Obed mused 
until his revcry was broken, and the " latch string" 
being out he arose and entered. Obed entered the 
" Kitchen." 

There, just as he had expect ^d, was the great 
"family room" with its broad, grateful fire place, 
over which hung the apples and the pumpkins to 



dry; the big wheel stood by the front window, with 
Aunt Phebe by its side trying to untangle the yarn 
which Jedediah had unwittingly tangled ; the old 
rifle and powder horn hung from their hooks on tlie 
wall; the " pewter platters " were in their appro- 
priate places on the shelf; the old family Bible with 
long s's lay upon the stand, and by its side the well 
thummed hymn book which many a time at the 
family altar, at church, and when loved ones have 
been laid away, has famished words for " Mear," 
"Coronation," and "Old Hundred;" pennyroj'al, 
cat-nip, and boneset, hung drying from the rafters; 
corn was braided and hungup for the next year's 
use, and the twins were asleep in tlie cradle, whilst 
"Jowler" and "Tabby" were quietly dozing in 
the shade. As Obed looked around on all these 
things, and the many others that were about him, 
he thought of the time when, snugly " tucked up " 
in the bed in the cornei', he would quietly raise his 
head to see how "sparking" was done, as his sist- 
ers, older than himself, sat with their beaux by the 
dimly burning fire. It was naughty for him to do 
so, but Obed was a 6o,y. Then he remembered how 
he disliked to a])ply himself at the old "dasher 
churn," and how he enjoyed the ' app e bees" — for 
just a few minutes, and then longed for the games 



— ISO— 

of "hide-and-seek," "button," and "snap-and-catch- 
them." Obed remembered all these. 

But a police-man said, " Move on," and Obed 
moved — moved to the bed room, where was the old 
bed wliose clothes did service six generations ago, 
and whose testers stood as of old, while the ancient 
curtains fell gracefully abo it them. Aunt Doritha 
was here, mild as a matron born, and pointed out to 
Obed the looking glass before which her great-grand- 
mother's aunt's great-grand-father's wife's husband 
used to shave himself, and a little wheel on which 
was spun two hundred years ago any yarn but 
" street j'-arn." Here, too, Obed met Tabitha Sprig- 
gins, of Sprigginsville, relict of Obediah Spriggins, 
she that was a Bumpus. As she had done for the 
last sixty years, widow Spriggins was diligently 
plying her needle, never forgetting to sto|> at frequent 
intervals, tap her snuff box and mention some good 
quality or deed of the long departed Obediah. Obed 
would gladly have dropped some words of consola- 
tion in her ear, but circumstances forbade, and he 
passed on. Obed passed on with a feeling of sad- 
ness for the once fair Bumpus. 

Experiencing a feeling of "goneness;^' Obed v.'ent 
to the wicket where Dolly sat as a receiver of custom, 
and bargained for a quarter for a " New England 



—151— 

lunch." And he ate his bread, butter, and berries, 
drank his tea, and was satisfied. Not so with some 
finely dressed ladies who sat at the table with him. 
They ate, grumbled, and slily filled their pockets 
with doughnuts. And Obed said to himself, " You 
cannot always tell the character of a person by the 
clothes he wears." This from long experience is 
Obed's belief. 

And Obed watched Patience, and Huldah, and 
Prudence, dressed in their simple attire, with tidy 
caps and graceful ruffles, and he thought of the 
time when Jonathan, and Hezekiah, and 'Zekiel 
should bashfully come and take these to themselves, 
leaving Diana, and Ke^ia in "single blessedness," 
still to grace the "old New England home," for 
Obed has heard it said that it is not complete with- 
out a maiden auntie or two —and he said 'tis good 
to have maiden aunts ; many shall arise and call 
them blessed. 

And Obed left the " Kitchen," glad that he had 
been there — glad that it had been put on the ground, 
thus connecting the old with the new. Obed 
believes in holding on to the old land marks that 
connect us with our fathers. If we forsake New 
England institutions, where shall we be found ? 



— 1S2— 
In Agricultural Hall. 

Refreshed with sleep and invigorated by a 
hearty breakfast, Obed was ready for a day of real 
Centennial work. Having been reared on a farm 
he naturally gravitated to Agricultural Hall. His 
first impression was that he was at a trial of mow- 
ing machines, for on entering he was greeted with 
a view of Klrbi/, Backcije, Champion, Excelsior, and a 
host of others, some with, others without reaper at- 
tachments, but all in vigorous motion, doing their 
best — doing their best in Agricultural Hall without 
a thing to cut. As he gazed about on these highly 
finished products of American ingenuit}', Obed 
thought of tlie time when " Armstrony-'s " was the 
only available machine, and then in his im- 
agination he saw the long rows of them that used 
to gather in the early morning, of the days " lang 
syne," in the great meadows and after a brisk 
tune f/rou'fr^ out of " Qaennebogs," commence that 
stately swing than which none was ever more grace- 
ful. Again Obed heard the voice of the father as 
he said, " Keep down your /iff/ boys, and tend to your 
pointing out;'' agaiu ho beheld the double swath; 
again he engaged in the run ; again he heard the 
shout that' at'osg when th§ leader's scythe was 



— 1S3— 

" grassed." And Obed sighed for the good old days, 
for he always loved the hang of a scythe — the hang 
of a scythe in an apple tree and a seat in the shade 
with the ten o'clock lunch spread before him. 

Obed passed among the Thrashers and remem- 
bered the solemn music the sturdy farmer was wont 
to make, as flail in hand, he brought down the 
swingel on the golden grain, and the ga}'' times the 
boys enjoyed as they rode Bud- and Berry around 
the great barn floor to get the c/rist tramped out for 
to-morrow's milling. 

Among the bright steel plows and well wrought 
sub-soilers, Obed met a genuine specimen of '"76," 
an old time plow, with wooden mould board which 
some one had thought to bring in to contrast with 
the implements of "these degenerate days." As 
he surveyed it he said, " 'Tis well ; the age of iron 
is better than the age of wood, at least in the age of 
plows." Thus Obed said, and passed rapidly on 
from one class of agricultural implements to anoth- 
er, ever finding some strong points of contrast be- 
tween the old and the new, furnishing rich fields 
for reflection. 

Obed could not content himself with a view of 
agricultural implements only, found in the great 
Hall devoted to their display. There were a thous- 



— 1S4— 

and objects demanding attention, to many of these 
he paid his respects. He stood' among ice-cream 
freezers and heard their respective merits discussed 
until his temperature fell below the sweating point; 
then he went up to view the old wind-mill with its 
ponderous wings, speaking their volumes of other 
times, and other men. Here was a display of canned 
fruit, put up by a patent process, making Obed's 
mouth water, at the very sight, but then between 
the snowy white pears and him there was strong 
glass, and Obed tasted not. A little way off he 
espied a very fine ox, and having an eye for the 
bovine, he hastened to a close inspection. It was of 
a dark red color, and weighed 3,200 pounds. It 
was a very quiet ox, and Obed was pleased at its ex- 
treme docility. Though the flies buzzed about, it 
switched not its tail ; and as the ladies waved their 
parasols in front of it to point out the singular intel- 
ligence protrayed in the high forehead, it never 
winked. Then Obed observed it had a glass eye, 
and he said, '"Tis only stuffed — stuffed for the Cen- 
tennial." After this he observed many exhibits 
of stuffing — stuffing incidents not to this country 
only, but to foreign lands. He visited the depart- 
ment of fishes. A few swam in aquariums, but most 
were stuffed, fishes, turtles, seals and whales. "Old 



—188— 

Abe" was there proud as when in the hour of bat- 
tle, he perched above the brave Wisconsin boys. 
No other bird fluttered. All were stuffed. In the 
distance Obed &aw some fine "Chester Whites" 
looking as though just ready to grunt with hoggish 
satisfaction. On close inspection he found the> too 
had glass eyes and weighed 500 pounds, stuffed. 
And he said, " This is an age of stuffing." 

As he walked on he saw many fine specimens 
of the lands that did not admit of anything artificial. 
He gazed with delight on the great " cotton pavil- 
ion " of Brazil, and the rich grains and fruits of 
the "Empire" in grand display beneath it ; on the 
woods and dyes, and gums of all South America; 
upon all varied mineral and animal resources. 
Mexico was there with all her mahogany, her indi- 
go, and cactuses in abundance. There were pines 
and furs from British Columbia and Labrador, and 
the works of Indian artificers from the frozen North. 
And Obed musing said these lands are but the sub- 
urbs of "Uncle S.im " — suburbs of Uncle Sam. 
In the great day of Reform when we get turtle soup 
from Cuba, they will be our turtles; when we have 
killed all the Blackfeet and Sioux, and war with the 
Dog-ribs, they will be our Indians; when our col- 
leges l\old their regattas of the " Horn," it will be 



—156— 

our Horn. And Obed saw that all the nations had 
worked with a will to fill Agricultural Hall with 
the things that go to show national wealth and pow- 
er, and he was glad, for it speaks of the approach of 
that day when swords shall be beaten into plow- 
shares, and spears into pruning hooks,; and when 
nations shall learn war no more. To Obed it speaks 
of these things. 

In Brewers' Hall. 

Obed had heard of Brewers' Hall, had read 
somewhat of the protestations uttered against hav- 
ing the alcholic brand of Columbian industry rep- 
resented at the Centennial. In fact, he was in full 
accord with the proliibition sentiment on that point, 
hence he approached the hall with anything but 
feelings of enthusiasm. The exterior was very plain, 
and there was little about it to attract attention. A 
few nicely trained hop vines, and " Brewers'- Hall," 
in bold letters, indicated its purpose. As he was 
there to have a peep at everything about the Cen- 
tennial, he hesitated not to enter. 

Great was his surprise, for instead of the dirty 
appearance, sour atmosphere, bloated faces and blear 
eyes he expected -to encounter, everything was tidy 



—187— 

in the extreme. The air was full of pleasant odors, 
and a more agreeable set of men, with frank, open 
countenances, one could not find on the grounds. 
So pre-eminently true was this, that order reigned 
without policeman's aid. A. 1 were very communi- 
cative with regard to their exhibit, its arrangement 
and design. 

The first thing that attracted Obed's attention 
was the "steeping cisterns" filled with steaming 
barley going through the first step preparatory to 
the foaming mug. When he had gazed his fill 
on these he passed to the "couching floor," dusted 
and clean as a lady's parlor, and beheld the great 
piles of steeped grain giving out their fruity aroma ; 
then came the "drying" and "sifting" depart- 
ments, and everywhere his questions were answered 
with so much courtesy and candor that (3bed's 
prejudices against the building began to give way, 
and he viewed the "grinding" and "mashing," 
tlie "drawing off'," "boiling" and "straining" of 
the "wort," the processes of the "gyle tuns," and 
finally the placing of the "yeasted liquid " in casks 
"to work itself cl.ear," with enthusiastic satisfaction. 
Nor was his visit to the "storage rooms" less en- 
joyable than his passage through the manufacturing 
department. 



—138— 

In his onward course Obed was presented with 
a copy of " Essays on the Malt Liquor Question," 
from a cursory glance at which he learned that 
many excellent men endorse the use of aleH and 
heers, and that the manufacture of these in the home 
of Columbia alone gives employment to more than 
35,000 men, at an annual expense of $14,000,000, 
and that it pays to the government an annual tax of 
$9,000,000. As he looked, and talked, and read, his 
faith in extreme temperance was shaken. Obed's 
faith was shaken. 

Having become separated from his companions 
before his survey of the hall began, and the day 
being now well spent, Obed thought to seek his 
hotel by the nearest way, so bidding his new-made 
friends good day, he hastened, to the eastern door- 
way, intending to take a winding pathway through 
the beautiful grove between the grounds and the 
Schuylkill. On reaching the threshold, instead of 
the beautiful scenery he had anticipated there 
greeted him a broad, open highway, stretching away 
from the very base of the building, far as the eye 
could reach. As Obed stood gazing at this unex- 
pected sight, four richly caparisoned steeds, draw- 
ing a stately pi imed hearse, issued from a door- 
way beneath him. In the hearse was placed an 



—159— 

elaborately carved casket, decked with flowers, in- 
tertwined in the national colors, and the mourners, 
as they came in their carriages, appeared of the 
highest respectability. Following this came a 
hearse less richly adorned, yet speaking well for the 
position of its occupant. Then there was a plain 
country wagon with its white pine coffin, and in 
close proximity there followed a mule cart, bearing 
a still ruder box, marked — 

" Rattle his bones over the stones, 
He's only a pauper whom nobody owns." 

As O.bed gazed in astonishment, team after 
team, ever varying in appearance, emerged from 
beneath the Hall, each bearing its encoffiaed freight, 
until the head of the procession was lost in the 
distance, notwithstanding the number that had 
turned aside at city cemetery, village church yard, 
or at the potters' field. 

As he stood wondering, what all this could 
mean, suddenly there stood beside him a pleasant 
looking female who, pointing to the procession said, 
" Wonder not ; these are the forms of some of those 
who 'seek mixed wine.' The first hearse you saw, 
bore away the form of a man who had been tlie 
Governor of a State, and had occupied a position in 
the highest council of the nation. Multitudes, 



— leo- 
deliglited, have listened to his utterances of patri- 
otic eloquence. But stronger than his love of 
reputation, country, home, was his passion for strong 
drink, though he acknowledged it not. You have 
seen the result. 

" Another bore the remains of a merchant who 
had handled sums untold, and whose business ca- 
pacity was measured only by his power of endur- 
ance. Those who were borne off in the humbler 
manner have many of them left families in abject 
poverty. 

" There was one casket upon which you look- 
ed with peculiar interest. Its garlands of flowefs 
and elaborate decorations covered the form of a once 
beautiful and gifted mother. Unfortunately she 
learned to love wine at her father's table, and the 
appetite strengthened with her years. , Yesterday, 
to the world, she died of cjeneral nervous profit ration , 
but to those who had seen her in her besotted con- 
dition in her own parlor, the true cause was appar- 
ent. Everybody knows that the poor hod carrier 
died drunk. All these that you see are the victims 
of intemperance, mostly begun in the use of mild 
beverages." 

As the procession moved on, Obed ventured to 
inquire how long this thoroughfare had existed. 



—161— 

" These many years," replied the genius ; " it began 
in the days of Noah. Day and night it has been 
thus thronged, so many are they who ' look upon 
the wine,' and regale themselves on sparkling ales." 
"Here he is," exclaimed a familiar voice — the 
vision wns gone, and Obed was joined by Mrs. Obed 
and her friend. As they hurried down the winding 
footpath, the groves were rich in diamonds glean- 
ed from a recent shower, and every fruit and flower 
around them was redolent of praise. But despite 
all these and the gay chatting of the ladies, the 
thoughts of Obed were of Breioers' Hall, and the 
fruits of the great industry it lepresents. Thus he 
mused : "Thirty-five thousand men furnished with 
employment, and four hundred thousand thereby 
rendered homeless; $14,000,000 paid in wages, and 
$100,000,000 expended in ale houses, that should go 
for home comforts, where now is squalid poverty ; 
$9,000,000 paid in revenue, against $45,000,000 
spent in criminal prosecutions growing out of the use 
of ardent spirits, to say nothing of the millions more 
required to support reformatory and other institu- 
tions, which, but for this one cause, would be all 
unneeded." 

The "Opinions and Facts from Eminent Physi- 
cians, Chemists and others in favor of Ale and Beer 



—162— 

as light wholesome beverages," and the order and 
tidiness of Brewers' Hall became as mockery to 
Obed, in view of the 00,000 who go down annually 
to drunkards' graves and the 000,000 regular re- 
cruits who rush on to fill up the depleted ranks, to 
say nothing of the unmeasured wretchedness of body 
and soul continually enshrouding them. 

When Obed laid his head upon iiis pillow that 
night, it was with a renewed consecration of himself 
to the ever safe principles of total abstinence. In 
these he sees the only safe course. 

/ Memorial Hall. 

Having read of that far of! wedding at which 
they ran out of grajie juice and were so miraculous- 
ly supplied, that they had* the " Best of the wine at 
the last of the feast," and remembering that in all 
well regulated families they present the choicest 
viands at the close of the meal, the Obeds reserved 
Memorial Hall for their last survey, and a glorious 
one it was. Passing up the flight of steps from the 
Avenue of the Republic to the main entrance, they 
stopped a moment to gaze upon the monster figures 
of Pegassus, stationed on either hand, which, with 
Bellerophon ready for the mounting, possessed enough 



of tlie mythological to carry the mind back to the 
time when tlie gods sported with the daughters of 
men, and the marvellous was much less impotent 
than now. Looking up as if to catch a glimpse of 
" flying horses " in the air, Obed saw Columbia 
winking at him from the dome of the Hall as much 
as to say, " No time for those old sportings in my 
land," and he passed on, bestowing a passing glance 
upon the " Dying lioness " in her majestic agon3^ 
Once within the Hall, all the world beside was 
shut out, — shut out as comi)letely as it is of a Sab- 
bath morning when the pastor asks the pra3'ers of 
the people, whilst he draws the gospel bow at a 
venture, letting the arrows mostly fl}^ in directions 
where there is no game. Here was the group, 
" America leading the Nations," just then and there 
very suggestive, though not remarkable for artistic 
beaut3^ Then there was Washington magnificently 
chiselled by an Italian artist. As he gazed upon 
that benign countenance, Obed thought of the many 
representations of the great man, he had seen in 
different Courts, f^onc by the artists of every land, 
some on canvas, others in terra cotta or tlie more 
beautiful and enduring marble. A German had 
given him all the buoyancy of lager beer ins[)ira- 
tion, Andalusian swarthiness spoke the Spanish 



—164- 

pencil, whilst an enthusiastic genius of the Emerald 
Isle had curled his lip as if just ready to say, " Be- 
gorrah, sir." "Well, they are not much to be 
blamed for their covetousness, after all," mused Obed, 
"for no nation but ours has looked u^jon his like." 
Over against Washington, in strange contrast, was 
the great Prussian Premier— all German, — all 
Bismark. 

Leaving the vestibule, the courts and passage 
ways were f'jund literally filled with works of art, 
— works of pen and pencil, brush and chisel. Here 
were several figures chiseled from the cold marble 
with rich drapery falling about them, and such 
beautiful veils — veils of marble lace — covering the 
face. Everything was so natural that the Obeds, in 
common with the multitude, stopped and gave vent 
to their satisfaction in many a " How curious?" " 
dear," and "My stars." Just a little way along there 
was a fine colltction mostly exhumed from buried 
cities and castles of sunny Italy. Busts of warriors, 
poets, statesmen and emperors stood boldly forth, 
some uncrowned othjrs crowned with myrtle or royal 
diadems. There were busts of women, — Roman 
mothers of days long departed, whose noble daring 
in instances not a few, saved the Imperial ('ity from 
anarchy and destruction. Tiiere was one with 



— 16B— 

which Obed was particularly struck. It was of a 
matron of noble brow and sparkling eye; but alas, 
that without which there is no beauty was gone — 
some vandal hand had broken her nose. As he re- 
membered his many lady acquaintances whom he 
has seen in the like painful condition, the query 
naturally arose, " Was it the denial of a new dress; 
refusal of attendance upon the theater, or had she 
failed to receive the last Bazaar P^ But there was 
none to answer, and Obed passed on and stood be- 
fore the bronze figure of a hegro, bearing aloft in 
one hand the Proclamation which brouglit freedom 
to four millions of his race, whilst from the wrist of 
the other dropped the shackles that had so long 
shut them out from every endearment of citizenship. 
Every lineament was radiant w-ith gladness, such 
as only an African can express, and as he thought 
of the myriads of "Lor 'bless Massa Linkum," that 
have gone up from sable lips, Obed mused, "If we 
can not say of the martyred President as we do of 
the great leader of the Revolution, ' First in war, 
first in peace, and (irstin the heart of his country- 
men,' we ma) justly claim for him the title of 
'She})herd of his People,' and perpetually intertwine 
his name and his fame with that of the ' Father of 
his Countrv.'" 



—166— 

A short distance from the " Battle of Gettys- 
burg," so historic in its corapleteness, appeared 
what, to patriotic tliousands, was the paint- 
ing of tlie Exhibition — Willard's " Yanivee Doodle." 
Not that it was so perfect a piece of art, perhaps, 
as some, as many others, but then the memories of 
a hundred years were centered on a few square feet 
of canvas. As lie gazed on the dismounted cannon, 
the old man " Yankee," with sleeves rolled up, col- 
lar thrown back, waist coat and heavy hair alike 
streaming in the wind ; at his deserted team and 
plow, standing in the furrow; upon musicians — 
man and bc'y — catching the inspiration of his man- 
ner, as, with the instrument of the fallen fifer, he 
led the little band of heroes fearle.ssly to the charge, 
Obed exclaimed, " 'Those were the days that tried 
men's souls,' and there were men and women, too, 
with souls to be tried," he rejoiced that among them 
was a Captain Goodin, that he was the owner of a 
pony and a cap, and that he procured that wonder- 
ful feather which is known and honored the world 
over. 

Americans were not the only ones who looked 
with satisfaction upon that picture. As Obed stood 
gazing, " Chee-wheu " suddenly broke upon' his ear, 
and a regular pigtail was swinging in his face, as 



—167— 

the disciple of Confucius enthusiastically exclaimed, 
" Amencanee, blowee goodee." " Mine Gott," said 
a rotund German ; but Obed could catch no more, 
for just then he was thrust irresistably aside by an 
impetuous son of the Land of St. Patrick, whose 
sentiments welled over in the following strain, 
" Arab, bedad ! bad luck, bad luck to the Bull who 
meddles with that Doodle." 

Passing by " Playing Possum," a game which 
many bipeds in all lands play as successfully as our 
American marsupial, and other subjects that would 
extend these Reminiscences over many pages, asingle 
mention more must i)ring tliem to a close. Early 
in their visit a friend had informed the Obeds of 
a painting he was particularly, anxious they should 
see, but for the finding, of which, as the sequel 
showed, he had given improper directions. It was 
that of an artist past middle life, whose wife had 
long been dead. After her decease his whole soul 
centered in two charming daughters, who grew up 
beneath his watchful care. Tiien the father painted 
her as paying him and the remaining one an 
angelic visit. This little story particularly excited 
the interest of Mrs. Obed and her friend who are at 
times especially impressible by anything that par- 
takes, even remotely, of the supernatural. Day 



—168— 

after day, whilst in Memorial Hall, dilligent search 
was made for this gem of affection, but all in vain. 
But a half liour remained. Obed set out on one 
more desperate hunt, which was soon crowned with 
success. There was the benign artist, simply clad 
maiden with arms folded about him, andthe sister 
spirit floating in the air. He hastened back and 
soon the ladies stood before the canvas so much 
sought. No sooner did his wife cast her eye upon 
it than she exclaimed, " Why Obed, you great 
goose, that is Abraham preparing to offer Isaac." 
Obed looked up, and sure enough, like the Father 
of the Faithful he had failed to see the ram in the 
thicket until the very last moment. There was a 
rush for the train, a gathering of satchels, and soon 
the " Centennial," to the Obeds, was among the 
things which were. 

Ob3d, as Youngest Son. 

Obed had the honor of being the youngest son 
of his mother. This fact he learned from the family 
record, and from many varied experiences. To be 
the youngest son in a family, when there are several 
brothers and sisterfe older and sisters younger, is to 
occupy at once a position of honor, trust, and re- 



—169- 

sponsibility. Tliis position was Obed's; hence his 
name, for Obed was a servant of all. He was, and 
many a youngest son who reads this history will 
know how to sympathize with him. It was not 
only his, as soon aa he could toddle, to do, all the lit- 
tle errandings for papa and mama, to bring them 
slippers and water, cane and spectacles, and all oth- 
er things with the bearing of which they " delight- 
ed to honor him," but to perform the work that had 
formerly been parceled out among older hands'. 
" Let Obed pick up the chips ; " " Let Obed bring in 
the wood;" Let Obed churn;" "Let Obed feed the 
chickens," soon became household expressions. 
And he did all these. Those were the days when 
laws were loose, fences poor, and tlie highways long 
pasturcfi, and Obed chased the pigs from the garden, 
the cows from the corn, tlie horses from the meadow, 
■whilst the big boys hallooed, "Run, Obed, run." 
He carried water to the field, and lunch to the 
harvest, whilst those sturdy fellows rested. Obed 
" Hoed the boy's row." Had that been all he would 
not complain. But then in the absence of the 
" powers that be" in ftimily government, those elder 
boys assumed special rights, and applied the birch ; 
and the grown up sisters exercised dictatorial powers, 
and enforced them with a broom upon poor Obed. 

u 



— 170— 

But why recount. 

" 'Tis the old, old story," not of the "blessed 
cross," but of the cross that all youngest sons have 
borne since long before Joseph was thrown into the 
pit, and Benjamin was accused of stealing silver. 
Those early experiences have always caused Obed 
to have great sjnnpathy for Abel, poor fellow! He 
never sees the youngest son suffering from the taunts 
of older brothers and sisters, but he thinks there is 
still something of Cainishness left as indicative of 
the fall. Still, for all this, he would not have it in- 
ferred that all youngest sons are " righteous Abels." 
Obed would not. 

The youngest son occupies a glorious position 
for vexing the older members of the family and 
teasing the younger, and if there is any gimp in him 
he is sure to exercise a retaliating hand. But Obed 
forbears to divulge, for the halcyon days of long 
families among Yankees has passed, never to return. 
None shall hereafter have to regret that he is the 
third or fourth son, much less the srventh. Such in- 
stitutions are now very unfashionable. What use 
for a whole troop of rollicking brothers and sisters 
tumbling over hay mows, nest hunting, making mud 
pies, or engaging in the thousand and oae other 
pastimes formerly in vogue among children, Obed 



—171— . 

has observed that such things, by the best families, 
are now considered very vulgar. Better, far better, 
to have the affection that was formerly spread out 
over a dozen, concentrated in one frail and fur- 
belowed little dear with kid slippers, done up in 
band-box style. Then the youngest son has no 
tribulations. He gets his share of the patrimony. 

But Obed remembers his tribulations as things 
of the past. The wrongs, whether real or fancied, 
which he experienced from those older than him- 
self were long since forgiven, and his own acts of an- 
noyance are no doubt forgotten. Some of them cer- 
tainly are, for those on whom they were practiced 
are sleeping, silently sleeping, and Obed will vex 
them no more. Thirty and nine years ago the 
family of which Obed is a member, all gathered 
around the "old family hearth " ior the last time. 
The oldest sister was given away, as many another 
oldest sister has been, amid tears and jests, sighs and 
gladness, of which Obed th»:;n had but little con- 
ception, but Aow he couiprehends them. Five of 
that happy throng are not, and of the live remain- 
ing, Obed is still the youngest son, with no sister to 
look up and call him " Brother.' When, after years 
of separation, the}^ occasionally meet in their far 
sundered homes in sets of twos, or at most threes, 



. —172— 

each shows marks of time and labor, and none thinks 
to bid Obed do this or do that; but he is fondly 
cherished as the youngest left of that home of other 
days. Then it is that he says, " Who would not be 
the youngest son, that a father and a mother may 
lean on him last of all, and that brothers and sisters 
as they pass into the evening time, may look back 
and bestow on him their benedictions ! " Then it 
is that the sensations that prevade the breast of 
Obed are blessed. To him they are blessed. 




m-. lU' 







A GREENBACK MEETING. 



A Greenback meeting to be addressed by the 
Hon. Patrick O'Leary, was advertised to come off at 
Tunket's Corners, and as Obed had never attended 
anything of the kind, he decided to go. A pleas- 
ant drive of an hour with a "fiat" friend, and the 
Corners were reached. The school house was full 
and who should be called to the chair but Sara 
Jones, whom Obed knew in 1840 as a staunch young 
Jackson Democrat, present, with a clear voice, 
wherever a hickory pole was to be raised, or an ash 
one to be cut down. Through all the intervening 
years Obed knows he has adhered to the better 
phases of the party, but recently a mortgage on his 
farm has caused him to see "light" in the pure 
green of the new party. On the front seat sat Dea- 
con Williams, who drove a " log cabin team " in 
the great " hard cider campaign," and cast his first 
ballot for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," really be- 



—175— 

lievingthat it was a sure g^uaranty that he should 
ever after eat "roast beef" and receive "two dol- 
lars a day" for his labor. Good, clever soul! he 
has been tossed about by every new political doc- 
trine, and Obed was not surprised to sfee him re- 
ceiving this last as the laboring man's real " New 
Testament." A hasty glance over the audience con- 
vinced Obed that the Joneses and Williamses pres- 
ent were not a few. 




The EON. PATRICK 0' LEAHY, 
in his great speech at TunkeVs Corners, prrpaving to read from th£ Fi- 
nancial Policy of John Law, hut of which he forgot to give the con^e-" 
qucnccs. 



—176— 

The meeting organized, the Hon. Patrick pro- 
ceeded to depict the woes of the laboring classes, 
tlie indignities heaped upon them and the wrongs 
that are weighing them down. As a workingman, 
Obed began to feel deeply interested ; he perceived 
that a great mistake was made when it was said, 
"In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread." 
Obed felt it wasagreat mistake. The bloated bond- 
holder was mercilessly excorciated, then spitted 
and held writhing over " his own place " until 
O'Leary was satisfied; and Obed felt that the punish- 
ment was but just for one who had so little regard 
for the rights of his fellow men. He was really as- 
tonished that he had lived so many years uncon- 
cious of the amount of suffering and wrong there 
is in the world. Obed was astonished. But he had 
little time for reflection, for the speaker fully warm- 
ed to his theme, and amid the wildest enthusiasm, 
went on to show the rights, the duties, and the pow- 
ers of the government in the premises. Money was 
made plenty, all men became instinctively indus- 
trious; every available acre of the public domain 
was converted into a garden ; tramps were only 
known in the few fossils exhumed in the prosecu- 
tion of public works : monopolies became evane- 
scent; capitalists, conscience smitten at their long 



—177— 

course of tyranny, hid themselves from the public 
gaze, and Congress became a body of apostolic pu- 
rity — all this would be if the people only proved 
true to themselves and the new party. 

The speaker closed ; the .meeting adjourned, 
and Jones and Williams seized Obed by the hands 
and asked if he was not now persuaded. His repl}'' 
was, "Almost persuaded." Thus Obed replied. 

Tlie ride home was a thoughtful one. Obed 
was not quite sure that the Greenbackers are not 
more than half right, and he vowed to investigate 
the subject carefully. Throwing himself upon his 
couch, he was soon in that land into which Cain en- 
tered six thousand years ago, and its revelations 
were wonderful. The sky was arched with 18 8-0 ; 
the people were all alive with excitement; the great 
political parties massed themselves for the contest ; 
the working men flang to the breeze "Butler and 
Victory," and everywhere inscribed on their ban- 
ners might be seen, " Give us Greenbacks," " Down 
with the Bondholder" "Equal Chances for All," 
and such like devices. Against these " Honest 
Money " and " Plighted Faith " could make but 
little headway, and at the appointed time the party 
in power stepped gracefully down, and honest men, 
men of the people, ascended to their places. 



—US- 
All this Obed saw, and much more. In his 
hour of triumph Benjamin remembered his friends, 
the friends of the people. Samuel received the 
Portfolio; to Walter was corifided the keys of the 
Treasury, whilst Dennis was made master of the In- 
terior, and La Matyr was commissioned " Adjuster 
of Moral Ballast." 

The venerable Cooper looked on and wept for 
joy whilst the new government was organized, and 
when the great "Fiat Mills" began their work he 
clapped his hands in very gladness, as did the mil- 
lions who had waited for this auspicious moment. 

Congress was true to the platform of the party. 
That the people might have labor, untold internal 
improvements were voted; that corporate enterprise 
might be stimulated, charters were granted for the 
carrying out of many important enterprises, as the 
organization of a hose company for utilizing Niagara 
Falls in irrigating Utah and Nevada; another for 
constructing ice cream grottos in the National Park, 
and one for applying the northern lights to general 
illuminating purposes; that individual enterprise 
and genius might not go unrewarded, boot blacks 
were paid five cents extra for a " shine ; " inventors 
received heavy premiums on their patents, and all 



—179— 

writers of poetry and novels were granted annuities 
for life; that the government might be known as 
liberal in its moral relations, marble fountains were 
set up in all beer gardens; church debts were every- 
where cancelled, and ten millions of dollars were 
invested in searching for the "lost link" in the 
Development Theory; that human suffering might 
be alleviated, all step-children were granted excur- 
sion tickets on the fourth of July, and to attend all 
animal shows, and every man having a mother in- 
law residing within twenty-five miles, was granted 
an annual pension of $1,000. Thus the people were 
blessed, and Obed saw they were happ3^ 

The popular will had triumphed ; the true 
secret of government, hidden for six thousand years, 
had been discovered ; capitalists stood abashed ; 
hard money advocates were few and in the back- 
ground ; business was brisk; speculation nought new 
opportunities; day laborers bought corner lots; 
school boys left their books and dealt in stocks ; 
Bridget's back presentod a rare display of miliinery 
goods; Paris was lost sight of in the brilliancy of 
our national capital : the country was sup[)lic(l witli 
every luxury; matrimonial alliances were made 
only near home; and when the mortal coil was 
shuffled off, glass caskets with gold mountings, only, 



-ISO— 




Tli.e DDeacoaa. 2.:a. Xj-u-cIs:. 



—181— 

were in demand. And why not? The great func- 
tion of the government is to create money ; and this 
the government was doing. 

Jones paid off his mortgage and invested a 
million dollars in the "' Hose Company." The Dea- 
con was in luck. In a state of ecstatic rapture he 
seized Obed's hand exclaiming, " Didn't I tell you 
so, oidboy?" And how could Obed demur? He 
couldn't. 

There were somethings, however, that appeared 
a little strange. Obed observed that many more 
men than ever before frequented the capilol, and 
lobbying was pushed with shameful effrontery. 
Benjamin quietly changed a million dollars of gov- 
ernment bonds into gold before the law converting- 
hard money into bullion took effect. This was 
privately stowed away in his Massachusetts cellar. 
Strange hgurings were going on in high places, but 
what did the people care ? They had enough and to 
spare, so that the groat army of tramps, even though 
quadrupled in ils })roportions, was allowed to pro- 
ceed on its foraging march all undisturbed. 

Obed wondered that any should run in debt, 
and yet the " Fiat Mills" were insufficient to sup- 
ply the " growing wants " of the people, and un- 



—182— 

limited credit was asked and given, until one morn- 
ing the telegraph announced the failure of J. Scroggs 
& Co , managers of the " Niagara Hose Enterprise," 
which had just laid its pipes as far as the Mississippi, 
for $20,000,000,000. There was wild dismay in all 
the land. Not a husiness interest but was affected. 
Firm after firm succumbed with the rapidity of 
lightning. " Hisexcellency " left the executive man- 
sion at noon for New England, with a package of 
gold spoons and plate marked " N. O." Samuel was 
suddenl}' called to Cincinnati to look after " private 
interests;" Dennis took an early train for the 
"Golden Gale," and the political parson to a west- 
ern conference for a first-class city appointment, 
salary not less than $2,500, parsonage furnished. 
Jones was ruined; the good Deacon's voice blended 
pitiously in the universal wail of despair as the 
words "No Redemption," "Repudiation," in lurid 
letters, extending from zenith to horizon, lighted up 
the evening sky, and.Obed — "I do wish you'd keep 
still so I can sleep," rang out the voice of Mrs. Obed. 
The sleeper awoke to the consciousness that it was 
but a dream. Obed was glad, for, vision though it 
was, he was convinced that there is no really safe 
way to national prosperity, as there is not to indi- 
vidual, only by industry and economy. 



-183— 



Obed, O'Learytothe contrary notwithstandiii! 
now fully endorses the doctrine, 

" 'Tis better to endiu-e the ills we have, 
Than fly to others we know not of." 



THE STATIONERY ACCOUNT. 



His friend Henry was elected to the legislature, 
a thing gratifying to Obed, and particularly so to 
his aspiring friend who acknowledged himself un- 
der many obligations for campaign assistance. 
His letters during the first session which he attend- 
ed were full of glowing descriptions of Capital life, 
and breathed hopefully of political preferment, as 
heclaimedtobe " learning the ropes " rapidly. 

Soon after the close of the session Obed paid 
him a visit, and was most cordially welcomed by 
friend and family. The little ones must needs show 



—184— 

him the tilings papa brought tliem from the 'laiet', 
and the older ones, together with Mrs. H., were not 
slow in exhibiting the presents the honorable head 
of the family had brought them from the seat of 
government. 

The hours flew by all too rapidly, as Henry re- 
counted his legislative experiences, detailing the 
pleasant acquaintances he had made, the rece^jtions 
he had attended, and, above all the bright anticipa- 
tions he had in store for the future; for his speeches 
had been most favorably received by his compeers 
and the people. Before the time for leaving arrived 
a promise had been extorted from Obed that he 
would visit his friend at the capital the next winter. 

Agreeably to the arrangement the winter of 
187- found Obed threading legislative halls, arm in 
arm with his friend. After the galleries, the ro- 
tunda, the committee rooms, the Governor's apart- 
ment and all other places of general interest' had 
been visited, Henry said : 

" Obed, I must show you the crypf 
" The crypt," said Obed; " What is that? " 
"0, you'll see; it's an apartment we don't show 
everybody. Of course we know our men." 
" Of course you do," said Obed. 



—185— 

Down a flight of stairs tripped the friends, and 
the lawmaker quietly opened the door of a spacious 
apartment which had all the appearances of a gen- 
eral store room. 

" And is this the crypt?" queried Obed. 

"Nothing else," said his friend. 

" 0, I supposed I was coming into the abode of 
some mummified legislator to whose shrine you are 
accustomed to retire, Mohamedan like, to reassure 
fainting political faith." 

" Not exactly so ; but then it is the dead room, 
and when entered has a comforting effect," said 
Henry with a smile. 

" Yes, yes, so I begin to perceive, said Obed ; it 
looks like a branch of the Paper Company." 

"Well, yes, this is the Stationery Department 
of the " Mill " up stairs. You remember the 
package of fine " Congress " I gave you last spring ? 
Well that was a sample of our work." 

"Yes, but you didn't sample me with one oJ' 
these knives," said Obed, as he laid his hand on a 
package of packet cutlery marked $36 per dozen. 

"No," laughed Henry, "I had to remember all 
my friends, and Jones being better on a shingle than 
you, received the knife. There's a fitness in all 
things, you know." 



—186— 

" Yes, and so it was fitting that Mrs. M. should 
receive that beautiful croquette set, as being better 
at electioneering than her husband." 

" Exactly." 

" But tell me, Henry, what did these cost, and 
who are to get the balance of them, for I see you 
have still enough left to stock at least two grounds 
in every county in the State." 

" O, they only cost $ t a set by the hundred, and 
next summer will be campaign season again ; there'll 
bo no trouble in clisjtosinr/ of them." 

" But what about so many gold pens, paper 
holders and erasers? You've enough to stock a 
wholesale establishment." 

" My dear fellow, didi,i't I tell you this is our 
Stationer}' Department? Each member is supposed 
to require at least five or six in a term; the}'- wear 
out rapidly, get lost, or we forget and leave them at 
home." 

" Yes, your minds are so occupied, it is not to 
be wondered at that you lay them on your parlor 
tables and forget to take them again ; but then there's 
this satisfaction, they are not lost in growing fami- 
lies. But these metalic boot-jacks, do they come 
uuder the head of stationery ? " 



—187— 

" If a boot-jack isn't stationary I'd like to know 
what is." 

" Fact ; I hadn't thoaght of it before in that 
light" said Obed ; "But how fibout these patent 
tops? They are certainly very movable.'" 

"One of them kept my Jimmy quiet for full 
two hours. This is essentially the experience of 
many members with whom I have talked, and we 
are fully agreed that anything calculated to serve 
our purposes, or to soothe our minds, comes legiti- 
mately within the definition of stationery, and we 
provide it." 

"Ah, yes, and that accounts for these cham- 
pagne bottles. AVell, well, I don't so much wonder 
at the way Stationery Accounts foot up. I suppose 
they've an enormous crypt -di Washingt )n, and that 
there are suialler ones for counties and municipal- 
ities, in which are stowed a thousand little con- 
veniencies, put there at the public expense. But 
tell me how do you Republicans anil Democrat-^ get 
along without exposing one another over these 
matters ? " 

"Pshaw, man, that's tlie^ easiest thing in the 
world. No matter how much we disagree on the 
curreiicy question, or struggle over, the "bloody 



—188- 

shirt," we are all agreed in this, that ' He that pro- 
videth not for his own household has denied the 
faith,' hence we are all orthodox. All tliese little 
matters we consider as perquisites and share them 
with the attachees about the Capitol, iind they learn 

to keep qui "' 

" I do wish you'd get up to Ijreakfast," said a 
familiar voice, and Obed, who had attended a po- 
litical meeting the evening before, awoke to the 
consciousness that this interview with his friend 
Henry was all a dream, and he was glad ; glad be- 
cause he knows something of the self sacrificing 
spirit of American politicians, and of the rigid 
economy of their views ; glad because they are wil- 
ling to spend session after session of our legislative 
bodies in electioneering schemes, and the vacation 
season on investigating committees, traveling from 
one end of the country to tlie other in a most self- 
denying way; glad that lobbying is totally 
ignored ; glad that all men in high j)iaces are 
so tenacious for the purity of the ballot box ; glad 
that no American official has ever l)een guilty of 
even the appearance of peculation ; glad that, as 
a nation, we have no need to apply to ourselves the 
doctrine, " When the wicked bear rule, the people 
mourn." Of these things and many more going to 



—ISO- 



show that the pure purposes of the fathers still 
have a dwelling place in the hearts of the sons, 
Obed is glad. 



OBED VISITS A ''HOME." 



" An hour till train time," said Obed to him- 
self, in one of oar beautiful lake cities, " and I can- 
not better improve it than by calling at the 'Home 
for the Friendless.' " No sooner thought than ex- 
ecuted, for he laid his hand vigorously upon the 
bell knob, and was soon comfortably seated in the 
plain, substantial reception room. ■ Directly the 
Matron appeared. ''Obed," said our visitor, and 
the lady greeted him cordially. 

It took not long to learn of the origin of this 
noble institution, nor of the kindly, benevolent 
soirit that has ever fostered it. More than seven 



— 190— 

liundred " little neglected ones'' have come with- 
in its walls and found " Home, food, clothing and 
schooling," and, with scarce an exception, have 
gone out to lives of respectability and usefulness. 
" Treasurer in heaven for many a donor," said 
Obed, and he perceived how " Charity covereth a 
multitude of sins." 

He was shown through the building. Every- 
where there were neatness and order, everywhere a 
learning to work on the part of those who were old 
enough to be employed in labor. 

The tour of inspection made, there came upon 
the lawn beneath the window a troup of children 
with bright eyes and happy faces. Most of them 
were viother less ; some fatherless also "No matter 
if many of them had been forsaken, the Lord has 
taken them up, and a christian public has assumed 
their parentage," mused Obed, as he hid his hands 
amid the curls of a little creature vcho came confid- 
ingly near. Ashe marked the confidence the}' re- 
posed in the Matron, more than ever Obed realized 
what that Scripture raeaneth, "Of such is the king- 
dom of heaven." From homes of poverty, drunk- 
eness and abuse these, in m"iny instances, had come, 
but there was the childlike spirit still, which Siull- 



—191— 

ful hands and willing hearts shall train for the 
"Life that now is, and for that which is to come." 

As Obed walked awa}' there was in "his heart a 
mingled feeling of sorrow and gladness. Sorrow, 
that there is so much of misery in the world ; glad- 
ness, because there are so many who can truly sa^% 
as the}^ toil amid objects of charity, 

■'Ours is the grateful service whence 
Comes day by day the recompense ; 
Better the toils of fields like these 
Than waking dream and slothful ease. 

" Who calls this glorious service hard '. 
Who deems it not its own reward :' 
Who, for its trinls, calls it ]es=! 
A e luse of praise and thankfulness :■ " 



OBED S THANKSGIVING. 



The year ISTO came — the year of all others of 
most interest in Yankee Land, because it brought 
with it the Hundreth birlliday of our dear old Uncle 
Sam, Obed's Uncle Sam, the hale old Uncle of more 
than forty million children. Now Uncle Sam has 
always cherished his birthdays, (particularly the 
last one) and ushered them in with a great deal of 
noise and hurrah, regaling himself in abundant laud- 
atory speeches, toasts and toddies. Though the old 
gentleman has sometimes been accused of being a 
little vain, he has never quite forgotten the humil- 
ity of his cradle, the trials of his boyhood days, nor 
the bountiful Giver of his broad acres and rich 
stores of intellectual and social enjoyment. Uncle 
Sam has never forgotten these, but through all his 
years, has annually appointed that his children 
shall gather them.selves together in their respective 
places of worship and in their many homes, and 
then and there pray and sing psalms, and eat tur- 



—97— 

exclaimed, "Industry is the lamp, and intelligence 
the sesame which converts the fairy castles of Ara- 
bian tales into Yankee realities, over which the 
American eagle flaps her wings with more of satis- 
faction than was ever enjoyed by the mythic bird 
which gave Sinbad his aerial ride." And as he took 
the arm of his friend, and iiis eye rested upon the 
'"U. S." everywhere conspicuous, Obed rejoiced that 
his is a Columbian home. Yankee Doodle welled 
up to overflowing in the heart of Obed. 

Cottons. 

His vision fully ended and his mind restored 
to its wonted equilibrium, Obed was ready to in- 
spect tbe wares and wonders of the luitions spread 
out in profusion around him. Having an eye for 
c((lico he at once took up tbe display of cottons, ad- 
miring the '"raw material," of wliieli he had never 
seen any before ; tbe nankeens of China and tlie 
flannels of Canton; tbe handiworks of the looms of 
Hindostan and Africa and the mills of Brazil. But 
most was Obed delighted with tbe shirtinr/s and 
prints of New England, for by them could he best 
measure progress in this departn.ent. Obed gloried 



—98— 

in the Merrimacs, Cochecoes, the Middlesexes, and 
the score more brands put up in rich display to 
show what the streams of the hilly North can do 
for the products of the sunny South. Obed claimed 
them as American all. He rejoiced that they made 
him the possessor of a fine Lonsdale shirt, a thing 
his father never owned ; that they had enabled Mrs. 
Obed and her friend to go to the Centennial, each 
in a twenty-yard-fivecent " Oriental Fancy." As 
Obed remembered that his mother, one of the belles 
of New Connecticut, used to rejoice in a six-yard- 
seventy five cent "French Calico," a feeling of 
gratitude came over him, that he lives in an age 
when the costs of prints will allow even the adorn- 
ing of the human form divine; an age when " cut- 
and-try " and "scrimp" form no part of the dress- 
maker's vocabulary — an age in which "a dollar or 
tM'o" will bring so much of sunshine to the domes- 
tic sky. Obed was grateful, and as he looked 
around he regretted only that the great pyramids of 
"Coats' Best Six Cord" and " Clark's 'O. N. T.' " 
had to be brought across the deep ; but Obed con- 
tented himself with saying, " Cotton was king ; cot- 
ton is king no longer, and ere the next Centennial 
year, American genius will provide American 
thread — American genius will." 



Though the thermometer stood at 95'' Obed 
realized that summer does not last always, and he 
passed from the realm of cotton, to the domain of 

Wools. 

Wools native, wools manufactured ; w^ools 
Merino, Southdown, Saxon and Cotswold ; wools 
American, Australian, African, Spanish, and Thibi- 
tan ; wools from every land where there are bleat- 
ing flocks ; wools fine and coarse, long and short • 
wools wrought into every conceivable fabric, by 
needle, spindle, knitter and loom ; wools in yarns, 
cloths, carpets, and blankets. Gazing on the tweeds, 
cassimeres, and broad-cloths; on the merinos, cassi- 
meres, and serges, Obed could but think of the days 
oi the home spufis — days when our mothers made 
the kerseys, the sheeps greys and the full-cloths; 
made linse3'-woolseys, the home dyed plaids, and 
the " Nigerawf/ivai/ " flannels, which the boys and 
girls were glad to get, even as second-haiid-cut- 
downs. Obed at least was glad. As he looked upon 
the delicate flannels and felt their downy smooth- 
ness, remembrances of the soft woolens his mother 
used to bring out when the " cold November rains " 
came on, and placed upon his tender back, rose up 



— lOO- 

in the mind of Obed. Again he passed, in imagin- 
ation through a week of itchings, scratchings, 
burnings, naughty thoughts, and bitter execrations 
on the man who first invented woolen underclothes. 
To Obed those were the days of the bloody shirt, but 
he will shake it no longer, for lie remembers that 
mother of other days with tenderest affection. He 
knows she did the best possible for those God had 
given her, for she was of that great army of pioneer 
mothers, now asleep or waiting in the sunset of life. 
We count them as women whose price is above 
rubies. They sought wool and flax and worked 
willingly with their hands. They rose whilst it was 
yet night and gave meat to their households. They 
laid their hands to the spindles; their hands 
held the distaffs. They oj)ened their mouths with 
motherly wisdom, and their chi.dren arise and call 
them blessed. Even forty millions of their sons 
and daughters call those mothers blessed. Obed 
blesses his above all other women. 

Finally Obed stood in presence of the Califor- 
nia display, and as he perceived the velvety softness 
of her blankets, he felt inclined to clasp his hands 
and exclaim, " Now I lay me down to sleep," but it 
was noon day, and he passed on saying, " I have 
seen an end of all perfections in woolens. Solomon 



— lOl— 

in all his glory was not arrayed in goods like these, 
and as for the Mrs. Solomons, they knew nothing of 
rag carpets, three-plies, or Brussels, such as adorn 
this Jubilee of Columbia for the nations." And 
Obed saw herein only signs of progress ; he saw only 
these. 

Silks. 

Obed saw silks as he pursued his onward way. 
Silks in the green mulberry leaf; silks in the 
mouth of the worm ; silks in the cocoon; silks in 
the raw thread ; silks on pyramids of spools ; silks 
in tiny scarfs ; silks in gorgeous robes for priestly 
wear; silks in the hands of its native spinner ; silks 
of every hue on the backs of gaily dressed ladies — 
all these he saw. It was simply the warp of one 
worm become the woof of another. And Obed ad- 
mired the butterflies — l)utterflies from the hand of 
nature; l>uLterflies from the hand of fashion. Obed 
jiiliuired them all. 

Linens. 

There were delicate white linens, ond linens of 
darker hues aiid coarser thread to claim the atten- 
tion of Obed. Linens that once waved a bright 



green, or danced in fields of delicate blue in many 
a land. As he gazed on these, he thought what 
"flax pullings" they must have in the "father 
land " among our Teuton relatives, and in "Svvate 
Ireland " among our cousins of the " real auld 
stock." But Obed's reflections on flax were not con- 
fined to " lands beyond the sea." Again he went 
back to the old Buckeye farm where he first learned 
the duties of American citizenship. Again he 
went to the field with father and mother, brothers 
and sisters, and bowed his back over the flaxen 
bowls of his prescribed " tltroiu/h" until on straight- 
ening up he found there was a bone in it sure. 
Once more he brought the swingle down on devoted 
heads and then spread the beaten stalks upon the 
even sward only to hear it said every few da^s, 
" Obed, my boy, go and turn that flax." And he 
turned and rg-turned it, until he exclaimed, in his 
vexation, " Bat the flax," and the flax rotted. Then 
Obed bound that rotted flax, and laid it away, only 
to bear it in early spring time to the top of the 
" old log house " and lay it across the stick chimney 
to dry. This was Obed's part of the work, whilst 
his father put it vigorously through the "jaws " of 
the old " brake " as it was dropped, dried, to him 
by his "youngest son," and the older ones, "knives 



—103- 

in hand, did valorous work at the " skutching 
board," beating out the " shives." Those were 
halc3^on days to Obed, and from his lofty site he 
" viewed the landscape o'er." Sometimes, in his 
fits of mental abstraction, he allowed his drying 
charge to " go up " in smoke. Then, as he was a 
boy, he received a boy's reward. Many a boy has 
suffered for the want of such reward ; Obed has 
not. 

There were other links between the growing 
fib;'e and the copperas pants and tow shirts of other 
days in Yankee Land, that rose up in the mind of 
Obed, despite all the grandeur around him. He 
descended from his perch on the roof onl}^ to find 
that mother of other days, her head bound round 
with a bright " bandanna," all covered with dust 
and lint, busily drawing the loosened bark through 
the " hatchel " to separate the " flax " from the 
" tow." Then there were the " big wheel," the " lit- 
tle wheel," with its tiny gourd water box, the "reel" 
with its hickory snapper to count the " knots ;" the 
"swifts" and the "loom," upon all of which the 
"maidens" of the household could play tunes that 
brought clothing and comfort. Upon all these Obed 
looked again through tlie lapse of years, and was 
just about to ejaculate, "Let the man who can 



—104— 

deprecate these appliances of the olclen time, 'stretch 
hemp,'" when exclamations of delight from Mrs. 
Obed and her friend, drew his attention, and he 
hastened to the show case before which they stood 
gazing on the prettiest, tiniest baby dress imagin- 
able; so delicate in its material, its style, its make 
up, its jirive — only $600. Had there been no cheaper 
baby clotlies than that, in years gone by, the young 
Obeds would have worn " aprons of fig leaves" to 
this day. The young Obeds would. 

Robes. 

Baby dresses of extravagant prices were not the 
only articles of wearing apparel, and items of per- 
sonal conveniences on which the Obeds feasted their 
eyes as they stood before those glittering cases. As 
before stated, there were rich robes interwoven with 
threads of geld and silver for priestly wear; and 
there were dresses of delicate laces and rich satin, 
with and without trails, for ladies whose husbands 
have never yet touched bottom financially ; there 
were shaAvls from Cashmere; scarfs of crimson from 
Damascus, and handkerchiefs almost etherial from 
France, and all to be had — had merely for the ask- 
ing and a few hundred, or at most, but a few 



— 19S— 

key and pumpkin pies, in thanksgiving for the 
bounties tliat crown the year. 

Uncle Sam failed not, after the rich enjoyment 
of his centenary birthday, to appoint a Thanksgiv- 
ing, that should befittingly mark his "new depar- 
ture." And it came, not like the first one, to a few 
hundred thousand homes where "anxious hopes, 
and doubts, and fears," were the principal things the 
inmates had to be thankful for, but to many mil- 
lions of them, where "Peace and plenty crowned the 
board." 

Among others, it came to Obed's home with 
peaceful plenty, and plentiful peace. For the twen- 
ty-fourth time Thanksgiving came to the household 
of Obcd and found him thankful — thankful for the 
bounties of Providence so freely showered upon his 
friends and country, as well as upon himself. As 
he sat with the few friends he had gathered around 
him, Obed was not only thankful, but his mind was 
filled with busy memories. He thought of that first 
Thanksgiving when he and his, numbering only 
two, sought his old home to eat mother's Thanks- 
giving dinner. And Obed ate with a relish such as 
a man never has for any cookery but mother's; No 
Turkey, no bread and butter, no coffee, no apple 
pie, iiQ nothing like the viands we get from a moth- 



—194— 

er's hands in boyhood. Because Abram could get 
them no longer, he was the more willing to go to 
"A land flowing with milk and lioney." With a 
mind filled with the tenderest memories of a good 
old mother's larder, Jessee posted the youthful 
David off to camp with home delicacies for those 
older brothers who were with Saul, down by the 
brook E!ah. So. too, during our "late unpleasant- 
ness," was the heart of many a hoy in blue, touched 
with yearning memories of "home" and "mother," 
as he regaled himself, after long dieting on "hog 
and hardtack," over the well-filled box that "she 
who loved him best," had carefally forwarded. 

There were present at that Thanksgiving, fath- 
er and mother and sisters two. Obed saw them in 
memory as they were on that da}-. Thanksgiving 
came again. There had been substraction in the 
home ci Obed, and one from two left three, and 
again the old homestead was sought. As it has 
been times without number, so was it on that occa- 
sion ; that little subtrahend, in the eyes of grand- 
father and grandmother, was "Just the nicest baby 
boy that ever was." Thus the mind of Obed ran 
over the years. The time came when three from 
two left five ; the cradle gave place for the school 
room; he passed through scenes of watching and 



—193— 



anxiety; a^ain he witnessed scenes of childish 
anger and fisti-cuffing of thb kind in which he had 
often "taken a hand" in the long ago ; wisps of do- 
mestic cloud followed by broad bands of sunshine, 




:2ra.nn.ple of IDcnncisstic S-a.-btra.ctioii.. 



chased each other across his mental vision ; Thanks- 
giving followed Thanksgiving and the five were al- 



—196- 

ways together, and — "Dinner is reacl3%" said Mrs. 
Obed. Then Obed and his guests rei)aired to the 
table. There upon the right and upon the left of 
him, each 'in its place, was a plate turned down 
"with tender womanly care." A glance at Mrs. 
Obed revealed instead of the raven tresses he had 
once admired, a mixture of glorious grey; there 
were wrinkles stealing over the cheeks where orst 
all was freshness ; a glimpse of his own countenance 
in an adjacent mirror showed unmistakable signs 
of "evening time," and as Obed looked at 

"The little faithful copy of his sire 
In face aad gesture." 

sitting opposite, and thought of the ones whose 
places were vacant beside him he experienced a 
sensation unknown before. 

"Only three of us to-day," mused Obed. "Though 
children still, they are chihhvn no longer," and he 
thought that a few weeks before, as the train rolled 
up, he had taken by the hand a manly form, just 
going forth in the world to try ife for himself. 
Tiiere was a quiver on the lip of the son, such as 
had never been there before; a tremor in the heart 
of the father ; a tear, may be. in the eyes of each ; a 
"good bye ;" a "God bless you"— "All aboard,"— and 



—197— 

"What shall the harvest be ?" Shall it be "garnered 
sheaves?" God only knows. 

As he thought of the loved ones absent, and 
wondered whether strangers would provide them a 
Thanksgiving dinner, and if they would think of 
home, Obed became so oblivious to what was about 
him that he began to carve the turnip instead of 
the turkey, and set his teacup on the table cloth, 
until Mrs. Obed said, as she only can say, "Obed," 
and his leverie was gone. His reverie was ended. 

That night,, as he laid his head upon his pillow, 
Obed could realize better than ever before what 
parental solicitude and responsibility are, and re- 
membering that his sensations for the d-iy were only 
a continuation of those begun in the h(^art of Adam, 
and vibrating ceaselessly in the hearts of every gen- 
eration since, he fell asleep. ref>eating 

''Precious promise God has givea 
To the weaiy pass^■r-by, 
On the way from earth to heaven, — 
'I v^ ill guide thi e with luiiie eye.' " 



CONTENTS. 



Arms, ... ... ... ... ... ... 107 

As Youngest Son, ... ... ... ... 168 

At The Capitol, ... ... ... ... ... 79 

At a Greenback Mketing, ... ... ... 174 

At The Head, ... ... ... ... ... 51 

At Fair Point, ... ... ... ... 62 

Beginning Work, ... ... ... ... ... . 85 

Centennial Eeminiscences, ... ... ... 73 

Chemicals, ... ... ... ... ... 121 

CoRLis Engine, ... ... ... ... 138 

Cottons, ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 

Dolls, ... ... ... ... ... 133 

Edjcvtional Interests, ... ... ... ... 114 

Indepevdexce Chamber, ... ... ... 87 

Indkpendence Hall, ... ... ... ... 86 

In Agricultural Hall, ... ... ... 152 

In Brewers' Hall, ... ... ... ... 1.16 

In The Kitchen, ... ... ... ... 147 

In Thi-: Main Building, ... ... ... ... '90 

Knives And Forks, ... ... ... ... 125 

Linens, ... ... ... ... ... ... loi 

Machinery Hall, ... ... ... ... 137 

Medicines, ... ... ... ... ... 119 

Memorial Hall, ... ... ... ... 162 



CONTENTS, 



National Museum, 



Onward, .. 

On Strikes, 

Pipes, 

Philadelphia Keachj:d, 



The Home, 
The Pulpit, 



The Vision, 



83 



Norwegian Figures, ... ••- ••■ 134 

76 



56 
110 

84 



Plumes, ... ••■ ••• ••• •• •• ^^^ 

Pottery, 

Robes, 

Silks, 



104 
101 



State Buildings, ... ... ••• •■• ••• ^^^^ 

Sundries, 

The Great Co-Partnership, ... ... ■•• -^ 

Thanksgiving, 

The Start, 

The Concert, ... ... ■■• ••■ ••• ^"■' 

The Crucifixion, ... ... ■•• ••• ••• l^'-^ 



92 
73 



189 
110 



The Stationery Account, ... ... ••• 1*^-^ 



91 



The WoMAN'.s Pavilion, ... .. ••• 1^5 

U. S. Department, ... ••• ••• ••• ^^1^ 

Waterford, ... ... ••• ••■ ••• '^' 

Wools, ^^ 



"SEVENTEEN SEVENTY-SIX 1" 

B"^ SI. TJ vJOEcisrsoisr, 

CLEVELAND: BROOKS, SHINKLE & CO. 

Muslin, Beveled Edges, Nicely Gilted, $1.00 



This volume of chaste flowing treats of subjects, patriotic and re- 
ligious, sentimental and liumorous. 

The followinvr are among the many favorable notices it has re- 
ceiveil from the press: 

"In the tasty volumr" befoi-e us the gracpful pen of Mr. Johnson, so 
well and favoraiily known to our readers, carries us all the w-'y from 
■what *''e fatliers suflfered to the sinuT'ing sights that Oh^d saw at the 
great Centennial. Everybody should have a copy."— IT. R. Chroniclf. 

"The language is sch"larly and chaste, the thoughts flowing on 
smootli and pure, as we suspect the life itself <>f th • man has d 'ne. 
The work of their old tencher will be hailfd with gladness by a mul'i- 
tuile of his former students scattered over the country."— Cmci?tn.a<i 
Cumrnfrciai 

"The inscript'on to his wife, at once tender, affectionate and hu- 
mon^us, is characterist'c of the inaii and tiie work. Several hundred 
copies have been sold within the few days since its appearance." — 
Ravenna Democrat. 

"The unique sentiment, 

'Nothing for policy ; 
Everything for principle,' 

to which we first opened, characterizes tiie man and the book. We 
predict for it a ready s&Xe."— Ashtabula JVews. 



Copies 55nt by tho Author on Ksceipt of Price. 



